25 May, 2007

busy life... :-)

Have soo been planning to get a blog-update out here for like forever… so figured, since I have the house all to myself, have just finished watching “Happy Feet” (yes, also, all to myself, with popcorn and everything… life is gooood…), and it’s still kinda too early to go to bed on a Friday night… this might just be the time to do it… so here we go…

Life’s been kinda busy, specially the last weeks, but it’s been great, weeks and weekends have gone by so fast, not too much time to rest, but that’s what we’re used to, hey? Started of a marathon three weeks ago with a weekend of work, preaching and worship leading, of to a new week of full-time work, and going to Oslo for a womens-conference the few days I had off from work the next weekend. It was so amazing. Realised when I went into the auditorium that this is just what I’ve been longing to see in Norway! I’ve seen it before, thousands of people (mostly women this time) gathered with one focus, Jesus! Was truly amazing!!! About 7000 women was gathered in “Spektrum” that Saturday, don’t know how many came forward during the altar-call, some hundred I guess, at least the space in front of the stage was packed… and I couldn’t hold my tears back. I soo needed to realise that this is actually possible here in Norway as well!!! What a day!!! The preaching from Anne Graham Lotz was just great, worship was static, there was an atmosphere in that room that I’ve missed big time!

Encouraged and refreshed I moved on to a new week of work, our big Norwegian Day on the 17th, when everyone is outside. Think it was the only day that week when it didn’t rain!!!God is just amazing!! But have to say, it’s nothing quite like it to celebrate that day outside of Norway… then, Trine and Adrian’s wedding on the 19th. Had a couple of aussie-friends from Oslo staying at my house, so great to hang with them again. Although it was raining (rain in the veil is supposed to mean good luck, isn’t it?) it was an amazing day. Trine was stunning (if possible, more than ever!!) Adrian looked so proud. Truly a great day! It was so good to see some aussie-people like Morten & Noemi and Kylie & James again too.

This weekend, I’m just gonna lead worship a couple of times at church, don’t have anything planned at all for Sunday, nice feeling… and then it’s back on again.. gonna preach at youth again next weekend… always a challenge, but it’s all good…

Hope you’re all doing well. Feel free to drop me a note, would love to hear from you!!

I’ll try to post some photo’s from the last weeks on here soon…

Till next time

-maria-

28 April, 2007

beltfight...

what can I say... boys will be boys...

What's the thing about boys and stuff like this???

07 April, 2007

Easter...

This Blood

Violently they grabbed his arms,
As they tightly strapped each wrist,
With a hellish look
stood a strong armed soldier,
Whip clenched in his fist,
Laced with chips of bone
they beat him hard,
From his shoulders to his feet,
And it sliced right through his olive skin,
Just like razors through a sheet,
Countless times the blood splattered,
As each in-human lash was given,
Several times his knees gave way,
As his flesh just hung like ribbons
And surprisingly he turned his head,
Though the words he used were few,
The soldiers face turned pale,
When he said “This blood is for you”,

Uncaringly they tossed a garment,
Across his weakened form,
And his blood pressure fell deathly low,
As the crowds began to swarm,
They forced him to carry his cross up-hill,
As his face they punched and smacked
All the splinters from the criss crossed beam
dug deep into his back
Through lack of sleep and dehydration,
His tongue began to swell,
And weakened by his loss of blood,
This prophet-teacher fell,
When he did some blood splattered
On a man named Simons shoe,
As he bent to wipe it off,
The prophet looked and said
“Simon this blood is for you”,

This blood can save a soul,
Heal the sick, mend a heart,
This blood can give you access,
To the very throne of God,
And it still can go the distance,
Through the pain to where you are,
This blood is for you,
The blood of the lamb,

Then they pounded a spike,
Through the bones in his wrists,
Bursting arteries, and veins
And as they dropped the cross in the hole they dug
His body convulsed with pain
Through an agony and torment
That never a soul shall find
He tilts his face towards heaven
With full control of his mind
With more love then any human heard
Before that time or since
He made a statement that to this day
Makes the strongest skeptic wince,
He cried“Father, God forgive them
for they not what they do.”
And as he gave his life for those lost in sin
He was saying
“This blood is for you!”

This blood can save the soul,
Heal the sick, mend the heart,
This blood can give you access,
To the very throne of God,
And it still can go the distance,
From the pain to where you are,
This blood is for you,
(If you’re lost and alone, and your mind is confused)
This blood is for you,
(If you feel like you have been hurt and abused)
This blood is for you,
The Atoning cleansing blood of the Lamb

This blood can save the soul,
Heal the sick, mend the heart,
This blood can give you access,
To the very throne of God,
And it still can go the distance,
From the pain to where you are,
This blood is for you,
The blood of the lamb,

This Blood is for you,
The Blood of the Lamb.

31 January, 2007

Things to spice up your life...

Oki... stole this from Sarah, but I have seen it before so think she stole it from somewhere as well. Hopefully I'll be forgiven... Would be so much fun to try out some of these sometime...

1) At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.

2) Page yourself over the intercom. Don’t disguise your voice.

3) Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.

4) Put your garbage can on your desk and label it “IN”.

5) Put decaf in the coffee makes for 3 weeks. Once everyone has gotten over their addictions,switch to espresso.

6) In the memo field of all your checks, write “for smuggling diamonds”

7) Finish all your sentences with “in accordance with the prophecy…”

8) Don’t use any punctuation.

9) As often as possible skip rather than walk.

10) Order a diet water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face

11) Specify that your drive-through order is “to-go”.

12) Sing along at the opera.

13) Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don’t rhyme

14) Put mosquito netting around your work area and play tropical sounds all day.

15) Five days in advance, tell your friends your can’t attend their party because you’re not inthe mood

16) Have your co-workers address you by your wrestling name, Rock Bottom.

17) When the money comes out of the ATM, scream, “I won, I won!”

18) When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling, “run for your lives, they’re loose!!”

19) Tell your children over dinner, “due to economy crisis, we are going to let one of you go.”

20) And the final way to keep a healthy level of insanity…pass this on. A smile is good therapy!

18 January, 2007

round and round....

It's funny how sometimes I feel like I'm just going around in circles, round and round... Feels like the same things I went through some time ago, suddenly come back... Having one of those times now, and found this... wrote it beginning of last year, but think I could just as well have written it now...

my psalm...
God, I'm tired of crying myself to sleep for reasons I just want to leave behind,
but cannot seem to do,
reasons I don't want to dwell on for a second anymore,
but they always keep spinning in my head.
I'm tired of feeling out of place, wanting to go home,
but wandering what there is to go home to...
Where do I belong?
Where is home?
Thought that was supposed to be somewhere safe,
somewhere I could hide from everything...
But I cannot run away from my mind, can I?

Sometimes I'm wandering why You created me the way You did.
Is it just me struggeling like this;
with my thoughts, my insecurities,
the feeling of being left alone, rejected,
unfairly treated, and totally out of place?
I'm just so sick of it all, but no matter what I do,
I don't seem to be able to run away from it.
Feel like I need something, but don't know what it is.
I want to know where I belong.

I know that You're all I need,
and the answer to it all.
And the only time I actually feel safe, is when I'm with You.
But sometimes it would just be so good to have something...
I don't know...
I can't really put words on it, I just sometimes feel so out of place, so lonely...
I look around me and everyone else seem to get everything I've ever longed for.
I know it's wrong to compare someone else's outside with my inside,
but I just cannot help myself!

God, what the heck am I doing here?
Can you please show me again?
Give me my reason to go through this,
coz I seem to have forgotten...


From my thinker head...