None but yours

“Christ has no body on earth but yours,
no hands but yours, no feet but yours.
yours are the eyes through which he is to look out,
Christ’s compassion to the world.
yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good.
yours the hands with which he is to bless now.”

- mother teresa

I cannot help but quote from Kathy Escobar's blog again. She simply puts it so well in words. I am storing it up here to remind myself :)

"When people think of Jesus, their responses usually land in this area: loving, kind, merciful, compassionate."

How I wish to be those things. I have also come to realise that being loving, kind merciful and compassionate doesn't mean I have to be a people pleaser and accept everything.

"Unfortunately we tend to not be known for our love, mercy & compassion. why? because so many have become entangled in contemporary culture that tends to focus on self, independence, survival of the fittest, and a “let’s-not-get-our-hands-too-dirty” mentality."

"it’s the people who matter; doctrine, rules, the outside of our cups mean nothing. focus on people, on hearts. go out of your way to extend your heart and help and care and concern to those who need it, whatever that looks like. sacrifice yourself. lose your life. stop and help. shore up wounds. offer healing touches. look the outcasts in the eyes and remind them of their worth. this is what we as individuals, as a body, should be about."

Amen.

per te

Ahh <3

Intimacy

Into-me-see. Someone has said "Intimacy comes through committment".

I typed in intimacy on google and it gave this page in Wikipedia! (What's not in there! quite interesting to even FIND anything on it in Wikipedia..hehh)) Wiki puts it like this:

Intimacy is both the ability and the choice to be close, loving, and vulnerable. Intimacy requires identity development. You have to know yourself and your inner self in order to share your self with another. Knowing yourself makes it possible to stand for yourself in an intimate relationship without taking over the other or losing yourself to the other. This ability to be separate and together in an intimate relationship and being okay with that is called self-differentiation. Lacking the ability to differentiate one self from the other is a form of symbiosis. This too is different from intimacy though to some that kind of dependent closeness may feel the same.

Dependancy is not the same as intimacy! Intimacy comes through freedom. And I think intimacy in any relationship comes through time. With some it's longer, with others it's shorter perhaps. But you can't force it. To have intimacy you need to have not just committment I think, you need to have trust. (Maybe trust comes through committment, but committment and trust both are built through time)

Our dear Wiki continues (haha, don't discredit me but read on!:))

"Poor development of intimacy can lead to getting too close too quickly; struggling to find the boundary and to sustain connection; being poorly skilled as a friend, rejecting self-disclosure or even rejecting friendships and those who have them."

I do think getting too close too quickly can lead to burns.

Intimacy can also be identified as knowing someone in depth, knowing many different aspects of a person or knowing how they would respond in different situations, because of the many experiences you've shared with them.

There is freedom and there is choice. True intimacy only comes through freedom. If you force it - it's not really there. It's not really built on rock either if you force it, but it will be built on sand. Easily washed away as the storms come.

I love Kathy Escobar's blog. It's becoming one of my favourites now. The topic of intimacy involves safety. Ho and low, she just wrote about it! I think it goes well with this topic of mine on intimacy to add a few things from her earlier post (Safe doesn't come cheap or easy).

Unsafe people (and communities):

• think they ”have it all together” instead of admitting their weaknesses
• are defensive instead of open to feedback
• are self-righteous instead of humble
• only apologize instead of changing their behavior
• avoid working on their problems instead of dealing with them
• demand trust instead of earning it
• blame others instead of take responsibility lie instead of tell the truth
• remain stagnant instead of growing
• resist freedom instead of encouraging it (can’t take no for an answer)
• flatter us instead of confronting us
• condemn us instead of forgiving us
• stay in parent/child roles instead of relating to us as equals
• unstable over time instead of being consistent

safe people (and communities) on the other hand:

• accept us just like we are
• love us no matter how we are being or what we do
• influence us to develop our ability to love and be responsible
• create love and good works within us
• give us an opportunity to grow & stretch & practice
• help us feel comfortable being “ourselves”, to be on the outside what we are on the inside
• allow us to become the us that God intended
• use their lives to touch ours and leave us better for it
• help us be more like Christ help us to like & love others more
• make the relationship more important than opinions
• receive instead of just give
• are humble & willing to say what they need
• are honest, kind & don’t pretend
• work through resistances instead of giving up

And this was said amazingly by her in that post as well:

"So many of these statements imply change, transformation. This is why we don’t have to be afraid of the word “safe”: a really safe relationship will cultivate movement, it just will. a really safe community will cultivate spiritual transformation, it just will. in the groups & friendships i am currently in & have been in over the years, the safety that was created never allowed me to stay stuck. in fact, it has always been just the opposite. the container of relationship gave me a place to see–up close and personal–my character flaws & pain and motivated me to want to change. they push me and pull me but it’s never out of “i’m up here and you’re down there and you better pull it off quickly or else i’m out.” instead, it’s always out of “yeah, we’re all in this together but let’s not stay here for too long.” every single person i am in relationship with (including myself), no matter how messed up, really doesn’t want to stay where they are. we just need people who will love us where we are but be willing to hang in there long haul as we learn and grow and try to notice & feel & experience God in the midst. that’s incarnational relationship."

I still had something else to add on my mind, but now I've forgotten it. Maybe if it comes back I'll add it later. Blame my lack of sleep last night! Early wake up. Though nothing's better than to wake up to a call from Finland! :D And to hear that a 6-year old thought that the best Christmas present for me from him would be for me to come and look after him again/babysit. Hehe! I loved that!! See he thought because I love him&his siblings, it would be the perfect present. In fact, he is right. I do love them and cannot wait to see them!!! It won't be long now - am going home in six days :)

More on the theme of building

Third bit that caught my eye about building in the last little while (first bit wasn't in this blog, but it's still continuation from the last post:)) The verse in Nehemiah 2:20 I think whatever each one of us is "building" may that encourage us!

I actually liked the Finnish translation more. For those of you who can Finnish: "Taivaan Jumala auttaa meitä. Olemme hänen palvelijoitaan ja ryhdymme rakennustöihin."

In Finnish it gives you the sound of more like God is with us and will help us in our process.

It just sounds very affirming: God will help us.

I think this message translation of it is pretty cool too though:

I shot back, "The God-of-Heaven will make sure we succeed. We're his servants and we're going to work, rebuilding. You can keep your nose out of it. You get no say in this—Jerusalem's none of your business!"

Hehe talk about attitude, confidence! :) Actually the whole story is quite nice, so I'll put it up here. It has many interesting things in it...

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls

I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.

By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.

Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work.

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?"

I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."

- Nehemiah 2:11-20

Picture: inner yard in Kamppi, Helsinki

rebuilding the ruins

the "Monastery" at the ancient ruins of Petra, Jordan.

From

There is a personal reason why this jumped up from my Bible today, though not elaborating on it any fruther than that, I just felt like posting it here. It's Isaiah 61 verse 4. I think the New Living Translation gets close to where I'm getting at:

They will rebuild the ancient ruins,
repairing cities destroyed long ago.
They will revive them,
though they have been deserted for many generations.

The NIV version isn't bad either. Here's a link. The whole Isaiah 61 is worth a read..

Love & Pain welcomed

Today I am posting first of all nearly the whole post of "All or No one" from Nakedpastor David Hayward. He is first writing about their daughter, then about himself and his wife.

"She is 16 and loves depth in relationships. She isn’t into superficiality, but appreciates relationships that are deep and meaningful. She’s experienced pain as a result of this because it means she invests in relationships, only to have them sometimes get broken. It’s like a piece of your heart gets amputated. It means saying goodbye. It means losing someone you love. It means going through a kind of grieving process. Love hurts.

...We knew it would be a more painful way to live because we already knew that some relationships aren’t forever. But we also suspected that it would be a more fulfilling and happy life because we would experience what it meant to truly love and be loved.

So the...strategy of distance ..... It is not a positive method for positive results but a coping and defense mechanism against pain which is guaranteed in this line of work. To close your heart to love and being loved is a way to live a protected life. But life in this kind of bubble is soul-killing. And you can’t be discriminate. Either your heart loves or it doesn’t. ...I will either love and be loved completely or I won’t at all.

Jesus didn’t love cautiously. And he died for it."

It was just so good I have nearly re-posted most of it. It really is all or nothing. That last sentence made me think of something else also - the fact that Jesus came down from all glory and splendour, from Heaven to us.. You can imagine someone who is the richest of rich, the King, imagine Buckingham Palace, the Swedish Royal Family, Monaco.. (ok, well, none of them really reach it but you get the image!) and yet He chose to come down here, this messy and dirty place and into our messy lives to dine with us. He stepped down from Heaven..to be with us. Not to quick-fix us. I mean of course - He did do miracles and heal people on an instant. But I'm sure He wanted to give all those people a lot more. I think the emphasis is much more on the Journey He did with the Disciples, how He spent those years with them. He was with them. And any man or person He met He was there, present. Which made me also think of another great post I very recently read, by Kathy Escobar:

What could be: pain welcomed.

Read it - it's one of the best reads you will do for awhile!! I think if we weren't so scared of pain, we'd enter and be present in other people's painful situations as well. But like in everything - it starts within ourselves. But I do think Jesus isn't scared of our messy situations or for it being messy around us - at all. Because the fact is - without Him I can't even do the clean up.

On a final note, since I've been speaking about pain and messyness and entering into other people's pain I have to hail my mum this week! She has been helping out a friend, who's had a really difficult time for over a year. (She is a lovely lovely person by the way - this friend of my mum's) My mum's been there for her a lot throughout the whole year. This week she is helping her by cleaning her house with her, and baking and other preparations needed for this friend's daughter's graduation party. (way to go mum.. i think she's giving me good example :)) Another story is of a time when someone who is dear to me was going through a separation, and a good friend of her's just came round one time and said: "I have come to do your ironing for you". This dear person has quite a few children, and it was of huge help at the time. (And they were close enough for this friend to come over to do this kind of thing that was needed.)

Like in the cartoon post recently, I just think being involved in people's (friends') life like this makes our lives richer. Close and deep relationships. Helping out when it's needed. And it goes the other way round too. Living together and sharing life. For better for worse...

Lord, Teach us how to pray

Inspiring and amazing teaching by Pete Creig at Holy Trinity Brompton in London just this last Sunday! Listen to it here (it's only 35 mins long)

(Thanks to Brian Heasley pointing me at that direction)

Grace

Why is it that so often we have the pointing finger rather than a helping hand?

Love the attitude in this cartoon. Beautiful. Our world would be a much better place if we had more of this I think.. O that wed actually get involved, be part of. Someone's suffering. To be there for them. Walk side by side, whatever amount of that route is ours to walk beside that person, really that is a definition for friendship, of being a friend. In the end of life the guy in the blue shirt will be much richer than the guy in the green shirt, I'm sure.

Cartoon by jon birch at Asbo Jesus

When little sister is not so little anymore

Isn't she beautiful??? :) She is holding here my niece, Veronika Ilona Ester (like Veronica Joy Esther in English). Today she became V's godmother! I remember holding her like that when I was 12!! There's a picture to prove. (But not publishing that one!) I posted a pic earlier with my little sister in summer 07 - this is from last month so this is much updated one. She just turned sweet sixteen last month! Do you remember being 16?

To Know Your Name

Jason Mraz (in the Netherlands somewhere I think.)

Video from here

Cause you gotta know your name before you play-a the game
Keep a level-headed check on your health and stay sane

The wall at the backround is interesting! I like the colours and the look of it.
Some words really stick out to me.. Like faith, my life, the river...
But yea, you gotta know your name! It's important..To know who you are. Don't let the outside determine who you are.

Love is a beautiful thing!

A friend of mine, Tia, called me last week to tell me she had gotten engaged. So here's to say Congratulations T and M! In honour of their engagement I thought I'd post two lovely pictures. I just like the first picture: it is two Ugly Betty actors actually. The second one is of Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter Emily's engagement photo, they are already married actually I think. I just think there is something so fresh and beautiful in them! May their life together be blessed..

Love is definitely a beautiful thing. There are so many love songs out there, but hey here's one. :-)

Love is beautiful!

Edit: PS. Especially when things like these grow out of them... :)

Nieces

All three of them!

E & J examining how lovely their new cousin is..

and being themselves.. :)

Isn't she lovely! #2

It's my niece, E. I took both of these photos a month ago. She's soooooo cute, isn't she! l-o-v-e-l-y. Ohh how I LOVE all of my family!

A Lifehouse song..

"I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you

Forgetting all I'm lacking
Completely incomplete

Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after You
I'll take your invitation
You take all of me now

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you

I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with You"

- Lifehouse "Hanging by a moment"

Quite nice lyrics.

Pastor wear

Haha, another very funny one from Nakedpastor :) Go see!

Here's the link

Gotta love Skype! :)

Besides the beautiful sunshine over here yesterday, the best thing was to chat over Skype with some family! :) (if you know anyone living away from home/far away like I do, do not ever underestimate the value of giving them a call- phone or any other type!)

Hello auntie Mimo!

Mum, you know you could put me down now..

Now that's better...

She is four weeks today! Woohoo! We are all besotted as you can see. =)

Family

I felt like posting some family photos. Here is our latest addition! She arrived on September 14th. I'm her auntie. She's lovely and a miracle!

The next photo was taken in the summer of 2007. It's my little sister and me. She's was a miracle too when she was born, and still is (though sometimes gives me headaches too ;P)

Spiritual abuse

From Naked Pastor

It is so true. Unfortunately. :( I think ANY person in leadership in ANY church should seriously have a self-inspection to see where they stand with regard to spiritual (and emotional) abuse.

We are not always aware of our offensive ways!

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24

Humility is the key. We don't have to be perfect (and hence in denial of our faults) - just ready to admit them and have humility. He can change us and help us change. Watching Jamie Oliver's latest show and project here in the UK made me think of this as well. There's a lovely single mum of two in it, Natasha, who is such a beautiful example of humbleness. In general, it takes lots of guts to admit you are in the wrong and that you want to change. That maybe all that you have been doing is not the best or the greatest way. Willingness to change. Renewal of the mind..

I think spiritual abuse, as well as in the wider world emotional and verbal abuse are way too underlooked and discussed. It is good that there is more attention these days to violent and physical abuse, but it should be remembered that there are other forms of abuse that are highly destructive too. And they are much more subtle.. And less noticeable. And most of the time, we people in general, don't even realise if we are engaging in something that is neither right, healthy or good. (Like we are taught to eat certain foods, but in the end are those foods good and healthy for us?) Thus I think one could be engaging in spiritual abuse even without realising, because one may be conditioned and thought to think it is ok as a Christian to behave this way and do things that way (though it's not if you ask God!). Someone said in the discussion at NP's site there, that there should definitely be more books on spiritual abuse, I agree! (NP is himself by the way a Vineyard pastor in Rothesay, Canada)

Duff duff Duffy

Inspired by Karen's comment, I thought I'd put some more "new" music up. I only found Duffy this summer. So here she is with "Warwick Avenue"



I've caught it quite a few times on the radio over here (Finland). I like "Stepping stone" and "Distant Dreamer" as well, and "Mercy" of course!

Meaningful life

"Step into the light and see, how awesome you can be
Step into the light and see, how awesome you can be
Step into the light and see, how awesome you can be"

..is what Jason Mraz sings in this video at the beginning. I saw him live a wee while ago (was awesome), he got us singing "Every little thing is gonna be alright" and "I won't worry my life away". Generally I like his message(s) :) He said it's always summer in his head in one interview. I like the life view. Today I saw a friend and we talked about seeing life glass half full. In the bad times (and all times) concentrating on the things that are good. Gives you perspective. To see what we've got.

And then being back here, home in Finland, has made me realise what a high standard of living people have in here (generally). And what I see is people have so much, and still they are not (necessarily) happy. They don't see it or appreciate what they have! People have it so good here. Not all of course, but generally. It is such a high standard of living!! As the saying goes, the more you have, the greedier you get. I think that's our problem in western societies is that nothing is enough, we are not satisfied with anything, we need more, more, more all the time.

So I guess like Jason Mraz sings, you could say "Step into the light and see, how awesome you have got"

Ok, rant over :)

Step into the light and see, how awesome you can be! :)

The bigger picture; part of a body

Another ace article by Pete Greig!

"Christ is bigger than any one perspective or set of prejudices"

100% Right!... but only partly

A picture says more than a thousand words..

An important topic has been touched by Jon Birch at Asbo Jesus. Too many people I know are, or have been in the second situation.

What's our self-image..and is it really and truly compatible with reality... Is our concentration and our demands for our bodies healthy... I pray we'd all come to a healthy understanding of who we are, and accepting of that, and seeing ourselves beautiful as we are!

Touching

Just watched this,

We Are Together

"A remarkable and moving documentary that follows 12-year old Slindile, her siblings and friends at their South African orphanage who use music to overcome hardship and loss."

There's a trailer in the link. Their singing is so beautiful and touching.
The whole documentary was.

Another link I thought I'd share (maybe especially to those few Finnish friends reading! who probably haven't heard of this either.) I had never heard of Greenbelt Festival until this summer, but it looks like something I'd like to go to and very interesting! I won't be able to this year though. It was also recommended to me by my friend David E in England.

Help in need

Original by Nicole C Mullen

Weary brother, broken daughter, widowed lover, you're not alone

Sow the Seed

"Now here’s a wild thought. What would happen if beginning today, every Christian on the planet would treat everyone else the way they would want to be treated? What would it do for the church, for the Kingdom of God, for the world, and for those non-Christians who are turned off by Christianity because of how Christians treat one another? (You know, like Ghandi who said: “I would become a Christian if it weren’t for the Christians”).

As long as I’ve been a Christian, I’ve noted two spiritual pillars that are incredibly difficult to keep in mind. They are all-too easy to forget. One is to rejoice in our suffering. The other is to put ourselves in the shoes of another person whenever we’re dealing on the level of human relationships.

...if you don’t wish for your motives to be imputed with evil, then don’t impute others with evil motives. If you don’t wish to be judged, then don’t judge others. If you don’t wish to be gossiped about, then don’t gossip about others. If you don’t wish to be personally attacked, then don’t attack others personally. If you wish for others to give you the benefit of the doubt and think the best of you, then give others the benefit of the doubt and think the best of them. If you wish to be treated with kindness and understanding, then treat others with kindness and understanding. If you wish to be forgiven, then forgive others, etc."

Nice post by Frank Viola.

SO GOOD to be reminded. You can read the entire post in here.

PS. The photo is of a Mango that Karina planted in May before she left, which I almost threw away already because it didn't look like anything was going to happen to it. It was just simply the stone of amango she had eaten! Just a week or two ago it started coming up, I took this photo yesterday and it is going up by leaps, today it looke again few centimetres taller! I look forward to seeing what it will end up looking like! God is speaking to me through this plant.. You never know what you are sowing. It may seem like there are now results, while in fact it is "brewing" and rooting before you will see the outer growth. All is not visible straight away. And Karina is not here to see the results of what she's sown. I'm glad she did though. I am here to enjoy it. =) I'm sure people who know a lot about plants and do gardening have such insight to some truths of God and His Kingdom.. I was ready to "throw in the towel" and didn't expect much of that plant (as it was kind of just a test to see if it would grow, from my point of view anyway), I am now glad I didn't and kept watering it! It speaks to me of not giving up. And like with treating others as you wish yourself was treated, you don't know what kind of seed you are sowing, and how beautiful a flower, fruit or plant there will end up growing one day. Just keep sowing. Good quality land will receive it and make it grow. (Matthew 13: 24-30) If it's there, and looks like nothing coming out, but it is a seed, a plant, just keep watering it and it may turn out like our Mango. :-)

Edit: Just goes to show how much I know about plants..Viola corrected me and apparentily it is an avocado in there! lol! Ok, whatever it is something is growing :)

No strangers

Avalon :"Orphans of God"

There are no strangers
There are no outcasts
There are no orphans of God
So many fallen, but hallelujah
There are no orphans of God

Makes me think of Vivamo's "Te ette ole vieraita" on the wall of leirikartano. It really touched me back in 1995. I'm sure many others too. God bless Vivamo!

What's our perspective?

"And He came to reveal God, to give Him hands and feet. He came to be near, to be God with us. He came to love and know us and to be loved and known by us."

Micah Wierenga writes..

To Beautify the World

( Pollok House, Glasgow)

"I woke one morning recently with a strange goal. I set out with a desire to beautify the world as best I can, whether through cleaning my house, having an inspiring conversation with someone, or serving in a way that makes another feel loved. These are all ways in which I can beautify the world around me."

- Rebecca St. James

She talks about how the church should awaken its hunger for beauty at every level.

I love it when people see something that most see as a derelict and hopeless place, but they see it is worth salvaging and restore it to even better glory than it's been. Here in the UK it's a business and a passion for many people to buy houses and re-do them. I love that. It requires a lot of effort and engaging but they love (must love) to do it. I admire that.

This place used to be a factory and then I think unused (?) for many years. But it's a beautiful building. Well, some visionaries and entrepreneurs caught on it, and now it's a lively centre where there's many businesses (it's not a mall though), artists, events, there's even a church (Free Church of Finland) that has a Chapel/resides there! It's from my hometown, where I grew up in Finland. I think it is simply awesome what they have done. As many caught on it and stepped onboard, and now it is a lively centre and livened up the place. I'm sure it is a blessing to the whole town and provides vitality and brings people together. Well done, Kehräämö! I raise my glass for the two or three business men who started it all. I have such joy over this one.

I think the same way God sees us. He sees the potential in us. He sees us worthy of salvaging. He restores and beautifies us. He is into restoration! No hopeless cases.

Christian Clone?

Denise Morris on being a Christian woman -and being you, not a clone.

Embrace and Celebrate who you are...

"I have felt a lot of pressure to be like the NCGs (Nice Christian Girl) — mostly from myself. However, I think there is also some subtle insistence from churches and families that Christian girls are supposed to be mild and smiley. They are supposed to be obsessed with marriage, and want lots of kids. We girls should always present our best face — no matter what we're really feeling. And once we girls turn into moms, that's when we begin wearing embroidered vests and decorating our kitchens with chickens or apples. While not often vocalized, these ideas are engrained in us, where they quietly help us form judgments about the women around us."

The whole article is here

it's worth a read :)

You've got THE love

Check out this!

That should take you to BBC iPlayer and Glastonbury 2008: "The Best Bits" Scroll to 18th minute and watch - Amazing!!! Candi Staton singing "You've got the Love". I had never heard this song before but it was awesome - and at Glastonbury of all places! Wow! This is what I'm talking about. This is how it's meant to be.

(if that link doesn't work, go to BBC Website and click on iPlayer and then find the aforementioned programme. It is only there for one week though!!)

Pure Awesomeness.

Word

forlorn \fur-LORN; for-\, adjective:

1. Sad and lonely because deserted, abandoned, or lost.
2. Bereft; forsaken.
3. Wretched or pitiful in appearance or condition.
4. Almost hopeless; desperate.

From

I like words. I found this a few days ago.. I think in the sadness of it there is beauty. And it describes well what it means. Poetic.

Oh, Summer!

And this is the perfect song for it! Ihana kun on kesä.

Jason Mraz "I'm Yours"



I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours

So I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours


He's up here in Gla next week!

The Acceptable Religion

I've been taking part (and still am) in this discussion course by Besom, actually it is organised here in Gla by St Silas . It's really good.. We have gotten through the first three sessons so far. This is from our last session, to me this is one of the baseline things..:


"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action,is dead." - James 2:14-17


"Religion that God our Father accepts is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" - James 1:27

Another passage worth looking up for, is Amos 5:21-24. The whole book of Amos just speaks to me about God's Heart and His heart for Justice.

Congratulations! Onnea!

Johanna & Markus!

Today - I am feeling sad for not being able to be part of my friend Johanna's wedding celebrations by physical presence! (I was there through mobile phone presence =)) In the picture here are my swiss friends Cristina who got married in April - in the middle of my final exams and hence I had to miss that one too. In fact, within the last four months I have missed FOUR weddings! May this post be dedicated to Johanna&Markus and also to all my friends who got married this spring. Lots of love,

I miss you all xx

(The photo is beautiful, isn't it! By D Rosenstock)

Rebecca St James keeping it real..

Isn't she lovely

My niece, E, on her 2nd birthday. Isn't she lovely! I love this pic.

Fresh Wind

*

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"”

“In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing."

All quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.

* picture from Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Coolness

..clearly runs in the family!



The smaller munchkin here had her 2ND birthday on Friday! I wish I had been able to be there and today for the party. Happy Birthday Eekaa!

With love your Auntie! xx

Wondering Dreams

with Viola and Karina, Feb 08

I've had some interesting dreams. Last night I flew to Australia for "a field trip". :) (Couple of weeks ago I was in Mallorca for a week with the Geography Dpt for a field trip..where we completed research projects. Hmm, similar in Australia, I wouldn't mind!)

A few nights ago I dreamt that I had a solo in some choir concert, and had forgotten the words to my song (or not sure what my song was..). We were looking for the lyrics, or waiting to find them/it out. And at the end when the song was found it ended up being a Savage Garden song. :D I am sure at the beginning of the dream it was a worship song or something like that! I thought it was hilarious. Maybe it was like "Idol" and the song was chosen to me, I was just waiting to be told what to sing, because even in the dream I was like me singing that? (I have nothing against Savage Garden, but it was just a bit interesting.. especially for a choir concert!) Anyways, after I woke up the dream made me think of a saying that is one of my favourites.

" A friend is someone who knows

the song in your heart

and can sing it back to you

when you have forgotten the words."

I thought that dream was pretty apt, as that day (to which I awoke) I was about to see a good friend, Johanna, as she was up here for a visit from down south. We had our half a year update, though hopefully sooner next time!

Beautiful Johanna

friends (flatmates from 02/03) re-united

Praise You In This Storm

I've been listening to a lot of things, and there's a lot I could post. But I felt like posting this just now. There is something beautiful (to me) in this song.

Casting Crowns: Praise You In This Storm



"Sometimes He calms the storms in our lives,
and sometimes He just rides them with us."

(You can listen to their other songs in here.. If the video doesn't show well, try this link.)

I'll be there

Drive by Incubus

Whatever tomorrow brings

I'll be there

With open arms and open eyes

Lose myself

I don't always feel like this, but I could do more often. Today I feel happy. I love the song, it is full of LIFE and passion!

Saturate my life

Fill every part of me with you

Drown me in your love

Let me lose myself in you

Jeff Deyo, "Lose Myself"

I don't want to lose the sight of this, the fact that "He who has the Son, he has LIFE." God is GOOD, peeps! This video is certainly reminding me of what I HAVE. What I already own, already have. In Him. How is it that sometimes it's so easy to lose the sight of that in the weary times of life? I am so tired of looking at the cup half empty. He is my calm in the midst of storms, my JOY. And He helps me see all the good things around me, all the good things in my life, all the things to be thankful for.

Joyous expectance of good things to come. That's hope. For nothing is impossible to Him! (Mark 10:27) The Joy of the Lord is my Strength :)

I'll be found in you

Brooke Fraser: Shadowfeet




When the world has fallen out
from under me
I'll be found in you,
Still standing

When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

Patience

Can I introduce you to a friend of mine? Wee Italian Chick has a blog worth to read! In her latest post she cites Henry JM Nouwen. I liked this bit about what he's said about patience:

"Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest,

to be completely present to the moment,

to taste here and now,

to be where we are."

I think that's active waiting, something I wrote about in an earlier post.

Snow, finally!

..NOT that I am in there. Thanks to the internet, you read the same newspapers online and it's like you are there. Here's what my country, Finland, has been looking like today! Oh Snow, I miss thou!

Lahti:

(courtesy of Ess.fi)

Helsinki,

pretty good photo this one actually:

(From Hs.fi, Outi Mustonen/Lehtikuva)

Happy New Year!

With this video :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl0Lkwis3-s

In the morning

When I rise

Give me Jesus

When I come to die

Give me Jesus