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