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 :)