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... :)

Songs in my heart just now

The Burn Band

Wanna pay a visit to these guys at St albans sometime!

Try the song "Beautiful"..love it.

Hello from Scotland

Just a wee hello to everyone! All is well here, got here yesterday, had my first class already today, heh =) Everything seems and feels so familiar! I guess that's what three yrs living in a place does to ya. Even the same secretaries and lecturers :) Anyways, it's really bed time for me already here, but do have lots of stories already to tell..We'll see if I get there. But consider yourselves greeted! :D

It feels really good to be back. Great really! (Miss you all though!)

Post Birthday Thoughts

"He won't let you go" by The Kry


There's an image in this video with Jesus arms open, which is very similar to the altar painting in the church of my home town of 20 yrs and where I was born, Orimattila (Beautiful church, isn't it!)

Was my birthday yesterday! Oh boy, I'm 27! =) It feels old! Haha! I know anyone older than me is now looking back at me with a sweet smile on their face.."Ahh there will come a day when she thinks 27 is YOUNG!" :) Anyways, I probably never before thought past this amount of yrs, of what life might be like. When you're 20,21 you concentrate on the next few yrs. for me, after that, life has just kind of "happened". I have certainly done some of the things I imagined to do and wanted to do, then again some things haven't yet come to pass that I thought. But in general, it's not so different after all. (Maybe it's just me.) I'm still me. Though a more mature me. Especially in the last year, I feel like I've matured a lot. I've been describing my life lately to people as in that I feel like I am in an oven =) Uunissa ollaan siis, kypsymässä. But yea of course I have also changed, maybe you just don't realise or see it yourself so much..Or you see it later on.

But years just seem to go by really quick.. 40 is only 13 years away??? That soon! :D

PS. Sorry for the links missing, I was trying out different templates and they disappeared and just haven't gotten round to putting them back in yet.

Legendary

Hehe, my friend Minnapinna sent me this video. I'd like to learn Spanish! I simply looooooooooooove languages, and learning new ones! In order to keep up with French (oh, I remember sooooooo little.) and Swedish, I think I should move to both countries for a wee period of time. Spain, why not too? Portuguese is a nice language as well. (My knowledge of portuguese is simply through the music of Marisa Monte) I like the story of Robin Hood, and I'd like to visit Sherwood woods! Did you know there is a band called Sherwood? Anyways, I once wrote on in an English essay back in Upper Secondary that "You are never too old to learn something new" Life shall never get boring as long as there's a new language I can dig into! Watashi-wa Mimosa!

PS Have no clue why it is not letting comments on this post...not intended :)

Happier Days

Today I am feeling like these two videos. :) It's beautiful and sunny over here..Today was also the first day that a jacket of any form (even the lightest ones) was definitely too much! Summer is just around the corner! It looks so beautiful here, so green.

As I was walking into town to get a wee present for my little sis, I thought about how green and lively and amazing everything looks. How the nature has changed and really bloomed and blossomed within the last week or so. And I was thinking how in life in general, sometimes there are tough patches, those times like the first of spring when the snow melts and everything looks rather brown and grey and no green and new life in sight yet. There is a period of time that it doesn't look so pretty, when it takes a wee while for the new life, for the green and the lively and the glorius to grow. But we can be sure that new life will always bound, every year it happens in spring.

It looks gorgeous here! :) Must try get some pics..the birch trees are beautiful! (And green.)

PS Check out Yvonne's blog!

It is finished!

Thought I should hop on the plane (Pardon me I might be speaking Finnish here -I've stayed too long in this country. Can't remember English colloquialisms) - of course I could not go away from this week without posting something on the Eurovision! Actually I had planned to do a line-up of some entries from past years, but ended up being too busy to blog this week..Well, you can check out my all-time Finnish favourite here though. ;) I like the way there's the finnish flag, which has a cross (!) on it is inside a heart in that logo. Inside the Father's Heart we are..Encaptured like that. I like it. Maybe we can beat some heart and love into Europe. Though maybe not the kind that won the competition this year..My personal favourite was Hungary! The only decent song! Or singing. Though France and Ukraine came close with their hilariousness..I think UK was maybe sponsored by the British Airways (or actually maybe more like RyanAir?)?!? :)

Anyway, it's funny how God leads and guides us. I happened to be in Helsinki b'cos of work from Wednesday to Friday. At one point I ended up sitting on the same train as Karen Fricker. She is a Research Fellow at the Institute for International Integration Studies (IIS) at the University of Dublin in Ireland. Her research is on "Eurovision and Belonging". This so something that interests me! (The belonging theme, not Eurovision so much I mean :)) Here's an article in Hufvudstadsbladet, HBL, (the Swedish-speaking main paper in Finland) on Karen Fricker&her colleagues. They took part in a seminar at the University of Helsinki, the topic being "Queer Eurovison". Tässä samasta suomeksi.

I also watched a documentary on Eurovision this week. In it someone said "Finns take every competition seriously, even if it's bootthrowing. ("Suomalaiset lähtee joka kisaan tosissaan, vaikka olisi kyseessä saappaanheitto".) It's true, hehe =)

It was nice to be in Helsinki and taste a bit of it all, and must say it was a great feel there! It was nice to see the city very lively (not that it isn't that normally) - so much happening. The city did a great job hosting. You can check here of the few things that one was able to see/do! It was nice to be able to have a wee taste of it all. I ended up going to an amazing free gig on wednesday evening, kind of a rock/jazz feel, Karoliina Kallio with a band, the amazingly talented Osmo Ikonen in keyboards. The band was amazing!! They were hugely talented and Karoliina also has an amazing voice. They are all true talents! So I enjoyed enormously. Really really enjoyed the music. And especially the last song they played, "Living on a prayer" by Bon Jovi, the lyrics are pretty good, don't cha think?

" Ooh, we're half way there
Ooh Livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Livin' on a prayer

We've got to hold on to what we've got
'We've got each other and that's a lot
For love - we'll give it a shot

We've got to hold on ready or not
You live for the fight when it's all that you've got"

I had a great time! God is Good. I stayed with my friend S.& the wee bundle..He is crying a bit at night b'cos of sore tummy, please remember them in your prayers for peaceful night times. Saw Tixu on thursday, now that was a great time too!

But yeah, to go back to that gig, I was definitely inspired. I feel like it would be nice to do some music with some really talented people. It would be cool. Yep. I miss my Glasgow Gospel Choir singing days..Oh but that was ages ago! It's been ..ohh no, four (=?) years!?! Where does the time go?!? I'm glad we've got forever..I'd run out of time otherwise. =)

A new baby in the world!

My friend S. gave birth to a beautiful baby boy today, he was born 1.5.2007 at 15.07! Look at that date and time!! His birth time has the date written on it - 1.5.07 !! (that's how we write dates in Finnish). Woohoo!! Also, not the least of things at all.. 15.07 happens to be yours truly's birthday!! (July 15th that is) I thought that was amazing clockwork. Wow God!

Hopefully some pictures will soon follow..I am hoping to see them in the next few days - unfortunately S&B are in a hospital 2,5 hours away from me. Though they are staying in a lovely cosy hospital in a seaside town. Nice.

But Congratulations to S. and Baby!!


What a great journey ahead!

I'd like to read this book

Called to Stand

"I'll stand

with arms high and heart abandoned

in Awe
of the One Who gave it all"

I like this song, Stand, and this version of it by Michael W Smith (originally by Hillsong United). I would've embedded the video here but youtube didn't allow me. Anyways, a bit of the song on that link as it was best I could get! Also you can listen to all the songs on his latest cd here.

Called to stand..
...for what you believe in..

What do you believe in?

Following Jesus

Ainoa pelastaja, syntisen ainoa turva,
luoksesi jokainen tulla saa
Ainoa parantaja, haavasi meidät puhdistaa,
taakkani luovuttaa sulle saan
Sä olet mulle enemmän kuin mikään muu,
sä olet suurempi kuin taivaan avaruus

Palvon ja ylistän nimeäsi,
käteni nostan nyt sun puoleesi
katson sun kirkkauttasi, Herrani,
enkä muuta voi kuin kaiken luovuttaa

Ainoa vapahtaja, syntini ristinpuulla
sovitit, vapauden meille toit
Ainoa kuningas, ainoa jolla on valta,
edessäs jokainen polvistuu

Song "Ainoa" by Petrus Ahonen. You can hear it here

Sä olet mulle enemmän kuin mikään muu,
sä olet suurempi kuin taivaan avaruus

New Beginning

Imagini Me

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Saw this on someone else's blog! (Actually it was Just Mom in her Musings) Not sure how true it is of me as a whole, but descriptive of my current mood & where I am at mo! Haha. The pictures were awesome in general, the pics you get to choose from that is. Do yours, and let me see what you came up with!

Perfect for sunday

Yeh, Release your inner visions!!! You are the only one who can..Your life is yours to live it out! I love this song. Awesome& the performance too! What passion&truthfulness.

*Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield

Glad to be alive

Wow!

Lovely video. Check out the red shoes..!! And the lamp post, quite like Narnia, isn't it! Just watched it today. (for the first time)

I've got... Milk!

This is amazing, check it out - I've got my own milk!! Haha! Apparentily they have this brand of milk in Portugal. (Maybe this is my first of many. Keep following the life and adventures of mimou!)

They even have a website. It's pretty cool I think. Now I definitely know I should learn more portuguese! (it's a beautiful language, and one of those languages I've been wanting to learn). Lately I've been into following all these different lifestyle programmes..decorating & food ones, like Nigella's..& a nice Finnish one. Pretty enjoyable those. (Though nothing beats Jamie Oliver!) Also following a bit more some talk shows, and the politics, as we've got the parliamentary elections by the door (in March). Oh, while we are on that topic, check this out! Eero eduskuntaan! First person I actually know personally to run! Päivi Räsänen's page is pretty good too.. Anywhoo, I better hit the road as I'm already late for Jaakko's going away party. (He's moving to Barcelona, permanent job there! Woohoo, isn't that neat!!) I'm pretty happy for him for that new twist in his life! ..heh, while waiting for my own twists :-) Thanks be to Jaakko for that photograph too btw. Ok ,so must be off now. Bless you all! God be with You! May His Presence follow you all your days.. Much love, Mims as always. x

PS Listening to: Kelly Clarkson, "Breakaway"

She said Yes

"Uskovan elämässä ei ole sellaista kuolemaa, jota ei seuraisi ylösnousemus"

I've actually read (and have them) two books of the lives of two girls who were killed a the Columbine shooting in 1999. Both of them touched me, but especially this one .