Along the way...

2011-06-03T22:28:00.002+02:00

I've started a new blog at a new address. I will not be using this one any longer. From now on I will be blogging at http://hildelh.wordpress.com. Feel free to drop by!

2010-10-29T23:35:00.009+02:00

This fall.

It's funny how the interest in blogging goes up and down in periods. I used to think it was too bad, but now I don't care. It's ok to blog whenever I feel like it.

It's in the middle of autumn, it's been raining all day, and I've had my last official day of work in the kindergarten. I don't know what next week will bring, but right now I'm kind of excited about it. I've applied for several jobs, and I know that God has some good stuff in store for me.

It's been a really good fall so far. Better than expected, even though I knew deep down it couldn't turn out bad when God is in charge. I experience several times that even though I know that God has good plans, I don't have the greatest expectations because I don't see clearly what God sees, and then I become surprised at how extraordinary good things turn out. It's been such an eventful and interesting fall with lots of exciting spiritual content. God is awesome! :)

I've even been on a trip to Prague with my family, because Mom turns 60 in a few weeks. It was a great trip. Even there I was surprised. The first morning at the hotell I went down to have breakfast, and there I met a couple from my church in Bergen! They were staying in the same hotell as us in Prague for almost the same time period. During our stay we had several talks, and they got to know my family a little bit, as they are about my parents' age. It was a blessing to meet them there. I really felt God's finger in it.

2010-03-12T18:11:00.002+01:00

May knowledge turn into revelation
and revelation turn into love.
-Love for Jesus!

2010-03-10T22:11:00.002+01:00

I have started a new blog in Norwegian called Hageprat. Hageprat litterally means "gardenchat", which doesn't make much sence in English, but sounds ok in Norwegian. The reason for the choice of name is from The Song of Solomon 4:12-15 where the groom describes his bride as a garden and an orchard. I believe The Song of Solomon is both literal and illiteral. -it's about this couple, who are in love with each other, but also about God and his bride, the church. So, "Hageprat" is meant to be a blog about studying what the Bible says about the church. I started it both for my own practice of writing and studying, but also because I believe God has given me a dream to share with others about who we are in him and what we are to him. Check it out if you can read Norwegian: http://hageprat.blogspot.com/.

2010-03-07T00:57:00.012+01:00

"Your plants
are an orchard of
pomegranates..."

2010-03-04T23:01:00.006+01:00

The reason I like battle movies.
Some movies really inspire me. Over the last three days while I've been home from work due to sickness, I've been watching The lord of the rings again. There are several times during those three movies where I for some reason usually think about God or Jesus. I know it is a well-known fact that The lord of the rings contain many allegories about christian faith. But what is encouraging my faith the most with these films, is not Gandalf's death and resurrection or Frodo's task to save mankind from evil, but it is the battles and the circumstances connected to them. I often feel the same way watching other movies with battles. Even modern military movies or movies about sports and championships sometimes give me the same ardent feeling; They remind me of what Paul points out in more than one of his letters in the Bible -to stand strong and not let anything hinder you in doing what you need to do in your life with God. In 1. Cor. 9: 25-27 Paul compares his evangelising to being an athlete competing in the games; He does not run aimlessly, but he makes his body his slave, forcing it to do what he must do. He does it for the one goal to win the prize. This makes me think of how so many people in the world by their own will are both able and willing to sacrifice and give so much time, effort, and maybe also money to achieve a goal that only lasts a few years. If they can do all that in their own strength for a career as a sprinter or skier, it is surely possible for us by the power of The holy spirit to give the same efforts or more for something and someone so far beyond ourselves. I find this thought inspiring.

I tend to like Paul's allegory about the soldier and the officer (2. Tim. 2: 3-4) even better than the allegory about the athlete, just because this is more like our reality as servants of God. Before stating that a good soldier will not let himself be hindered in his task of pleasing his commander, Paul encourages Timothy to endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ. As we also see from Ephesians 6, Paul encourages the church as a whole to put on the armour of God to stand strong against spiritual forces of evil. We as followers of Jesus are indeed like soldiers.

So while thinking of Paul whenever watching these kinds of film scenes, I'm also pondering upon how to use my time, effort and sometimes money to train my spiritual «fitness» for the sake of God's kingdom, and also how to be a best possible soldier of Christ. Obviously the answer to the latter comes along with the encouragement to put on the armour in Eph. 6. -There's a user's manual: The belt of truth should be buckled around your waist, the breastplate of righteousness put in place, your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God... All this is done through prayer and in The spirit. (Eph. 6: 14-18)
As for the first question about how to be spiritually strong, it is easy to think of things like fellowship, bible reading, worship, praying and fasting as good answers, and I am convinced that they are all true, but if we look to the beginning of the paragraph where Paul encourages Timothy both to be like a good soldier, a good athlete, and actually also like a hardworking farmer, he simply says: «You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.» And then a few verses later in verses 8-10: «Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.» So he says:«Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead...» And later: «...God's word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything...» What I draw from this is simply that focusing on Jesus, which is the one God's Word is all about, is what makes us strong and «spiritually fit» to serve God's will in His kingdom. For just as the battles in the movies are fought for the sake of a king, a kingdom and a people, so is Paul talking about being an athlete or a soldier for the sake of preaching the gospel! -for the expansion of God's kingdom.

While watching The lord of the rings again these days, part of the enjoyment in watching the battles, comes from how it is a matter of course to most of them to stay faithful to their king, their country and to their alliances, even if pain and death is a certainty. This is such a good example for me as a servant of God and co-heir with Jesus in His kingdom. It makes me think of all the great people of God that have lost everything, even their physical bodies and earthly lives because they stayed faithful to their King Jesus. Loyalty and faithfulness are in themselves such great virtues, that I simply enjoy watching it.

I'm not yet as much of a soldier and athlete in God's Kingdom as I dream of being. Neither have I got total revelation about all of this. But what I've written about here is a fascination of mine, and something I seek to apply to my understanding and way of living by the power of the Holy spirit. Because that -the power of the Holy spirit in me- is of course the food and the drink -the strength and the power- that enables me to do anything at all as a spiritual athlete or soldier of Christ.

2010-03-04T17:31:00.002+01:00

I came across a very interesting article about forgiveness, grace and restoration among leaders in the church, and how important this might be in our hunger for more of Jesus' presence among us. Really it is written about a certain case, but it surely gave me some very good general insight, and I was really encouraged by reading it. It is written by Rick Joyner in Morningstar Ministries in South Carolina. It's definitely worth reading even though it's quite long. Here's a link: http://tinyurl.com/y9ajlo5

2009-12-13T00:16:00.006+01:00

I visited the world's largest gingerbread city today together with one of my co-workers. It's located in the middle of Bergen, and is truely worth a look, I think.

There are trains passing by.

As you can tell; The city is quite big.

There was even a gingerbread UFO!

There are also boats and even a pirate ship. Unfortunately some houses had fallen apart, among them the Eiffel tower... I'm impressed with all the people that built this gingerbread city. It's very pretty, and fun to watch even if you're not of low age. :)

2009-10-23T23:14:00.002+02:00

I feel challenged this semester. I'm very well, but at the same time I feel so discontented. I think it is God challenging me. Actually I know it is God challenging me. -and that's why it is a good thing. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not bad, maybe "impatient while in training" would be a better expression. Haha. Anyway, God is teaching me that "the just shall live by faith". Of course when this is written in God's word it refers to the new life given through faith in Jesus Christ, but I am learning now to live by faith in a wider sense of the word. For instance, I work with something I had never planned to be working with. -and I experience that I like it more and more. I also see why God wants me to have that job for a while. When I didn't receive my monthly income last month I had to learn to live off less money. This forced me to make different priorities in both use of money and how to spend my time, so I have spent more time with God than I normally do on a regular basis because of a simpler diet and less expensive activities (hardly any except from hanging out with people now and then). This has also proved itself to be the year to finally start travelling to Britain, which I have known for years that would happen at some point. I've been there twice since July, and will be going for new year as well. And who knows why I'm going and what will be the results of it! God knows, and that makes it really exciting. Earlier this semester mom and dad decided to give me money to buy a stage piano! That was a huge blessing and a help on my way towards writing songs, which is the dream God has laid on my heart. While I have less money than before, God is challenging me even more than before to be a giver. To be a giver is one of the tasks God has given me. I'm getting good practice this semester. He is constantly reminding me that you reap what you sow, and whenever I choose to give I will receive. This goes for things like offerings on sunday services, but also for being generous with people. God is also teaching me to talk to strangers and to be obedient to what he says. Lately I've had some interesting talks with strangers, and chances to talk about Jesus and pray for colleagues of mine. But the main challenge is the whole "how do I get to where I know God has spoken to me about getting?" situation. God has given me dreams thatstill seem so far away. And they've been far away for years. Somehow it feels like I don't get any closer, but if I stop and think I know I am getting closer, thinking about how much I've grown with God over the last years, thinking about the church I've become involved with, the people there that I've befriended, thinking about the few songs I've written, thinking about that I have learned to become a giver, thinking about my trips to Britain the last months and my new British friends... I keep reminding myself that God is faithful to do what he has said he'll do. And you know, last week I received a really encouraging word from God through one of my new friends in England. He sent it to me on facebook, and I was incredibly blessed because it made me go from worrying (forgetful of God's promises at the moment) to totally knowing he will do all the things I have prayed about that I have thought was his will.
So yes, this semester is a bit of a challenge, but after all challenge is good, and I wouldn't get anywhere without it. God is doing som great training with me. -it's like the eagle pushing the young eagles off the cliff to teach them how to fly. They can't stay in the cosy nest forever. Eventually that would kill them because they wouldn't know how to handle life.

2009-10-05T00:09:00.003+02:00

I've been looking through my blog reading some old posts, and I have to admit I was a pretty good blogger back then... ;)

Anyway, weekend's over, new week's starting. It's gonna be a good one! God is good.

2009-10-03T13:23:00.003+02:00

I've just had a strong meeting with God in the bathroom together with my house mates! -it's incredible how a short, spontaneous prayer can turn into a total praise party. God is good, and he really knows our needs and answers our preyers. He is almighty and awesome.

I've been a week to Britain. My friend Anne-Guro and I went to the World Watch conference in Cardiff for three days where we got to know a few new friends, and also had the pleasure of seing old ones. Then we went to Leicester to visit the wonderful friends we made at the bible week this summer. We stayed with the wonderful Alison, and received blessing upon blessing. The whole week was a blessing really!

Now I'm back in the kindergarden and that's good. I really like my collegues and the environment at work. But today is saturday. I am listening to Joyce Meyer, reading Hebrews, chatting and having fellowship with my house mates, and enjoying the time off.

2009-09-20T19:51:00.002+02:00

It was great hearing today about what this year's bible school class is experiencing with God. On friday they were "treasure hunting", which means they spend time praying and listening to what God says before going out in the city to meet people. They received words of knowledge from God about people with this and this outfit at certain places in town. When they later saw people who matched the description, they knew God had something he wanted to say to them. A few people were healed from physical pain and struggles after the students layed hands on them and prayed to God. Another person that they had received several words from God about, accepted Jesus into his life as his Lord and saviour. He was pretty amazed by what the students had to bring to him from God. From what I heard, I believe he really experienced that God loves him and sees him, and now he's received a brand new life. It's pretty amazing how much God loves people, isn't it!

2009-09-19T17:12:00.002+02:00

My wonderful friend Anne-Guro has been over here. We've spent time fellowshipping with each other and God, and we've made dinner together. I'm excited because we're going to Britain together on tuesday. We were there in July and now we're going back for another conference and visiting friends.
While AG was here I found out that I wanted to rearrange my furniture. I'm surprised how big a difference it makes to me how my furniture is arranged. I have put the furniture in different spots of my room. I like my room so much better now, and I'm planning on spending the evening in here doing useful things. But first I need some fresh air and a walk.

2009-09-18T17:44:00.002+02:00

It's been a good week. I had the day off on monday, so the week has gone by quickly. Nonetheless, it is good that the weekend is here. And today the weather is nice for a change. At the moment the sky is all blue actually. Can't believe it! ;)
My free time this week has been spent fellowshipping with other people, trying to do some songwriting, and last but not least; playing my new piano. It is so great having a piano in the house! I really enjoy it.

2009-09-17T18:58:00.002+02:00

I have just read 1.Tim.2:1-4, and now I'm pondering upon the connection between the two first verses and the two last verses.
What great influence does it make when we pray for leaders and governments?
Interesting thought, and it makes me want to pray more.

2009-06-07T22:39:00.002+02:00

I feel like I should keep this blog updated more often. But I don't really know what to write about these days. I feel like I should have something interesting to write about in an elegant manner before it's worth posting. But I guess a blog can just be a log. Sooo, what's up?
-I'm getting close to the finishline of this school year. That is strange. We'll start our exam on friday! The year has gone very quickly. But I think we're ready to move on.
-My head is filled with questions like where shall I live, with whom will I live, what kind of job should I get, or can I get?
-the sun is out every day, which is sooo great! I guess it is these days, and these days only that the sun is out all the time in Bergen, or am I wrong?
-It is spring time, which always means running outside, barbequeing, doing things in town, going hiking, going to the movie theater (I don't know why that is a spring activity for me...) and so on. And also enjoying the green and the flowers and the blooming bushes and trees.
It is now ten till eleven at night, and there is still light outside. The sun is shining with pink light as it is setting. It's so nice.

2009-05-22T00:16:00.011+02:00

Since spring is around, and the sun is actually shining every now and then here in Bergen, I thought it was about time to let myself have the pleasure of experiencing hiking the mountains surrounding the city. Last week Randi from my class and I climbed Ulriken, the highest of the mountains around here. I made sure to document it by taking a few pics. Yesterday we were going to climb another mountain, but ended up on top of the wrong peak, a lower peak. Today, however, I climbed the right peak by myself. It is so great having nature so close to the city.

We also celebrated May 17th., which is our "national day". On 17th of May 1814, our Norwegian constitution was signed. We celebrate this every year by walking parades with marching bands, giving speaches, singing songs, playing silly games, eating good food and lots of ice cream. I had a great day, sosializing from morning to late evening, having breakfast, ice cream downtown and lunch together with friends, before having lots of people over on pizza and snacks in the evening. After that we went downtown again to watch the fireworks. -and had more ice cream. My first time of celebrating May 17th in Bergen was great. On the picture is the breakfast gang, some in their national costume. On the picture to the right, which was taken in the evening, are Anne-Guro and Kristine, who I live with, and me.

2009-04-13T19:17:00.002+02:00

Jeg prøver for tida å lære meg å tenke som en gudsmann, ikke som en nordmann. Norge er et fint land, og jeg har alltid følt meg veldig norsk. De tingene som er bra ved det har jeg ingen intensjon å kvitte meg med, men det er slett ikke bare positivt som særtrekker Ola Nordmann. Derfor er jeg veldig takknemlig for at Guds ord forteller meg at jeg ikke først og fremst er Norsk, men først og fremst borger i Guds rike. (Fil.3:20; Hebr. 11:13-16.)
Det er så bra! Det er bra av flere grunner. For det første slipper jeg å ta del i de trekkene ved norsk kultur og tankegang som er negative, uten å føle meg hjemløs av den grunn. Jeg veit jeg tilhører et bedre rike som har en helt annen standard enn det mitt naturlige fedreland står for. Dessuten er Guds rike veldig internasjonalt. Det fins folk fra alle jordens nasjoner og land der, og det syns jeg er veldig stilig. Det er veldig herlig å oppleve at man i et møte med etterfølgere av Jesus fra helt andre kulturer og deler av verden, fra første sekund har en tilknytning, et bånd og et fellesskap. Det er fantastisk hva Den hellige ånd kan gjøre med oss!

2009-03-01T20:15:00.002+01:00

De siste dagene har jeg lest brevene fra Jakob til og med Judas i Bibelen. Det har vært skikkelig mat for meg. Siden vi leser gjennom Bibelen på bibelskolen har jeg nesten bare lest i det gamle testamentet siden august, og det var først nå da jeg satte meg fore å lese litt i det nye testamentet at jeg merket hvor stort behov jeg egentlig hadde for å gjøre dette. Det står mye bra om mange ting i disse brevene, men det jeg har lagt mest merke til at går igjen er det som har å gjøre med kjærligheten mellom søsknene i menigheten. Det har gjort inntrykk på meg, og fått meg til å tenke. Særlig Johannes er generøs i å oppfordre til å elske hverandre, men også Peter snakker om det, og Jakob også på en mer indirekte måte.
Jeg kan ikke gresk, og kjenner heller ikke så mye til de kulturelle omstendighetene i tiden brevene ble skrevet, men det slår meg hvor ivrig og emosjonell Johannes fremstår, iallefall i min norske versjon. Han må ha vært en glødende, uttrykksfull fyr. Peter virker mer avbalansert og praktisk. Det er interessant å merke hvordan jeg blir inspirert av Johannes' ivrige oppfordringer til å elske hverandre, skrevet med et språk som på dagens norsk virker nesten poetisk og litt svevende, samtidig som at hans autoritet hos meg blir understreket av at staute, praktiske Peter som sikkert ikke går rundt og sløser med "jeg elsker deg", vektlegger det samme, bare på en litt enklere og mer praktisk måte.
Johannes er en inspirator -jeg får lyst til å elske. Peter forklarer meg hvordan. -elske hverandre inderlig av et rent hjerte, elske fellesskapet med hverandre, gjøre det som er godt, frykte Gud, vise medfølelse, ikke gjengjelde ondt med ondt, men velsigne, lide for rettferdighets skyld, være gjestfrie uten å klage, tjene hverandre...
Jeg merker at Gud inspirerer meg om dagen. For ikke lenge siden ba jeg til Gud om at han måtte gi meg lyst til å lese i Ordet igjen. Jeg hadde en periode hvor jeg ikke var så motivert. Nå sluker jeg det, og gleder meg til å sitte med det i både én eller flere timer. Og så kommer det gode ting ut av det. Sånt som at jeg f.eks. ser noe om det å elske hverandre.

2009-02-20T14:54:00.003+01:00

I dag har jeg vært i begravelse. -En veldig fin begravelse med mange folk til stede, med mange fine innslag av musikk og ord, og med et tydelig preg av tro, håp og kjærlighet. Jeg kjente ham ikke så godt, sekstenåringen som ble gravlagt, men store deler av min omgangs- og vennekrets kjente ham veldig godt.
Selvom jeg fortsatt har de aller fleste av mine nærmeste i live her på jorda, er det veldig oppmuntrende å se og høre at de pårørende sørger med glede i hjertet. -det er godt å se at det går an. Jeg tror jeg har sett de siste dagene at selvom man ofte tenker på sorg og glede som motsetninger, så går det an å sørge med glede i hjertet, fordi man kjenner Jesus og veit at man har et fast håp, en visshet, om at Gud er god og at livet for de som kjenner ham aldri tar slutt, men fortsetter i himlen hos Gud, selvom man blir frarøvet vedkommende her og nå.

2009-02-08T19:08:00.004+01:00

Det er på-puta-dager... Forkjølelsen slo til brått og hardt. Det har blitt tre filmer i helga, samt timesvis på nettet. Litt for daff til å være konstruktiv. -en god unnskyldning. ;)

Har lest litt Jeremia i dag da, siden vi skal ha prøve i den boka i morra, samt prøvd å skrive ned vitnesbyrdet mitt på engelsk i anledning at vi drar til Bolivia med klasseteamet i april. Spennende!

Hadde til og med et kort besøk av en Osloboer idag, før hun skulle dra med toget i firetiden. Kjekt.

Men ellers føler jeg meg litt sånn som til høyre om dagen. ;) Men det er nesten helt ok. -godt med en grunn for å roe ned innimellom. :)

2009-01-09T00:36:00.002+01:00

Pc-hygge
Jeg sitter her og hygger meg. Til tross for at det er altfor sent. Du skjønner at selvom jeg burde ha vært i seng for en god stund siden, så har jeg vært så opptatt med å installere og laste ned og fikse og ordne med den splitter nye pcen min. Jeg var nemlig nede i byen i dag nettopp av den grunn at jeg hadde satt meg fore å kjøpe meg en ny lap top, siden den andre var både gammel og slitt. Jeg endte opp med en pc som jeg foreløbig er veldig fornøyd med. Dessuten er dette den første pcen jeg har kjøpt ny, ever. Ikke rart jeg ikke har klart å rive meg løs fra skjermen etter at jeg kom hjem i fire-tiden.
Jeg hadde tenkt at det skulle være en pc som jeg kunne ha mye musikk på, som ville inspirere meg musikalsk. Derfor har jeg sittet store deler av dagen på Limewire og lastet ned litt av all den musikken jeg aldri hadde på cd... -alle de gode, gamle, sånne som Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Beatles og andre 60-, 70- og 80-tallsartister. Jeg skal høre på dem helt til jeg finner ut hva det er som gjør at låtene deres er så gode. Sånne låter som f.eks. "Benny and the Jets", "Signed, sealed, delivered", eller "God only knows" av The Beach boys. Pluss mange, mange flere låter av all verdens sjangrer...

Kvelden ble toppet av at min kjære roomie Kristine kom inn på rommet mitt og slo av en god prat før sengetid. Sov godt!

2008-10-25T00:28:00.004+02:00

Digg å le!
Jeg har fått bønnesvar i det siste. I tillegg har Gud gjennom det vist meg i praksis at han liker humor. -Ikke verst hva!
Jeg slang ut en bønn til Gud her for et par uker siden etter at jeg hadde innsett at jeg lo mye mindre enn før. -"Gud, la meg få le mer!" Det er jo mye gøyere å le enn å være så seriøs hele tida. Jeg glemte at jeg hadde bedt bønnen, helt til jeg plutselig her om dagen tenkte med meg sjøl at "i det siste har jeg ledd utrolig mye"... Oj! Det var jo akkurat det jeg ba om for ikke så lenge siden!
Digg.

Gud skapte humor.
-Gud er genial!

2008-08-22T21:22:00.000+02:00

Det er moro og bra når bibelskoleundervisningen blir så praktisk at læreren bruker en hel skoletime på å gjennomgå en kort instruks for bruk nøkkelkort, ved at det hele blir en spontan undervisning om det å bygge karakter og å tjene Gud og hverandre.

Dette skjedde i forigårs, men er ikke utypisk for den bibelskolen jeg nå har gått på i en uke. Jeg digger måten kunnskap om Guds ord og visdom blir gjort til noe praktisk, gjennom lærernes undervisning. Det blir levende. I dette tilfellet handlet det om Guds standard og å tjene fellesskapet. Han kunne ha lest igjennom instruksen i løpet av to minutter, og kanskje forklart litt rundt punktene, for så å begynne å snakke om Gud og det som har med Gud å gjøre, men i stedet var det helt naturlig for han å inspirere oss til å bruke vår tilgang til lokalet på en måte som tjener fellesskapet, miljøet og pengene (som vi heller vil gi til å spre Guds rike enn å betale strøm). Også dagen etter da vi gikk igjennom reglementet for bibelskolen, fant jeg nedskrevne punkter som fikk meg til å glise bare fordi det reflekterer et syn på Gud som sier at Hans eksistens og nærvær er naturlig og reelt i alle livets aspekter. Måten læreren snakket seg gjennom punkt for punkt på utfordret oss på en veldig god måte, med Guds rikes standard, tjene hverandre, karakterbygging og forvaltning som stikkord. Vi er del av et annerledes folk. Guds folk. Det er en del av vårt vitnesbyrd å vise verden en annen standard enn det som er vanlig. Det er utfordrende, og kanskje til tider vanskelig, men det er ok. Det er selvsagt masse nåde og hjelp fra hverandre underveis.

Det er noe helt annet enn det resten av verden snakker om. Det sier noe om helt andre verdier, når noe så praktisk som nøkler og skolens reglement blir satt inn i en overnaturlig sammenheng, og jeg føler meg inspirert til å vaske dassen på skolen...

2008-08-19T22:57:00.000+02:00

The girls here in the apartment had already gotten to know some of the neighbours when I arrived here in Bergen more than a week ago. They had even went to the movies together to watch The dark knight. Anne-Guro and Renathe told me what great dreams God has given them for our neighbours, and they turned out to be right after my heart. I am so excited about what God will do among our neighbours.
Renathe had a chat with the lady next door the other day. The lady told her that her leg was really painful and hindering her in doing things she normally does. Renathe responded by telling her that she knows Jesus, and that He can heal her leg. The lady was ready, and Renathe laid hands on her and prayed for her. The lady surprised Renathe by agreeing to everything she said. She had already said that she didn’t know or read the Bible, so how could this be? This made Renathe curious, so she had to ask if the lady knew Jesus.
“Yes”, she replied.
“Do you really know Jesus?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know Jesus?”
“I dream about him when I sleep.”

It’s amazing how God works with people.

2008-08-14T23:41:00.001+02:00

Settled in Bergen
After four days in Bergen I feel like I am pretty well settled in the apartment. We are now four girls living here, expecting the fifth during the weekend. I’m impressed with the work Anne Guro and Renathe have done here before I arrived. They have painted walls and cupboards during the first week here and now it looks really nice. The apartment is a lot bigger than I am used to from Oslo. There are four large bedrooms, a big livingroom, an ok kitchen, a spacious hall, and of course a bathroom and a couple of small storage rooms. Even my bed room which is the smallest is quite roomy with a big window.
I’ve already spent a few hours reading in my room. I love to be able to close the door behind me and be all by myself reading a book or being with God. But that’s not the only thing I’ve been doing so far, and I’m not only sitting in my room, as some might exaggeratedly assert, since I do like to be alone to some degree. Heehee. Yesterday we hosted a little surprise birthday party here, which was very nice and a good opportunity for me to get to know people here a little better. I have also been trying to get a general view of the town, going for walks. I went to the movies by myself (since the girls here were busy) on tuesday night, watching The dark knight. I enjoyed it very much.
The weather has also been nicer than I expected. There has been some rain every day, but also some sun, and on tuesday night the sky was all blue and beautiful. I am encouraged. We’ll see how long it lasts. -The nice weather, I mean.

2008-08-09T23:54:00.002+02:00

Time to leave the peaceful open landscapes of eastern Norway and head for the wild and stunning scenaries of western Norway. We are leaving early in the morning, and have a long drive ahead of us. Pray for our safety on the road.

2008-08-09T00:01:00.003+02:00

I'm packing my bags.
It really takes a lot of time and effort moving! Fortunately I'm not bringing all my stuff to Bergen. I'm leaving lots of books, dvds and cds behind along with old clothes and other "junk". Dad has rented this big hanger, much bigger than necessary. It is good to be able to bring whatever I want. Heehee.
I have pretty much finished packing. Now I only have left to clear the floors and tidy up. Sorting things makes a big mess. Hopefully it won't take all day, because the forecast predicted sunshine for tomorrow. I really hope so, because we've had rain for more than a week. I'd like some sunshine on my last day here in the eastern part of Norway. Early sunday morning we're driving west to rainy Bergen.

2008-08-05T23:28:00.001+02:00

I just thought this view had a piece of eternity in it...

2008-08-04T19:21:00.011+02:00

August is definitely a summer month. It's the month of ripe blueberries in the woods and golden fields. It's the perfect month for hiking in the mountains, because the snow from last winter will for the most part have melted by then. The lakes have had time to warm up to a pleasant temperature, which makes any sunny day perfect for swimming. It's the month for garden parties, serving strawberries, raspberries, currants or apple pie with cream or vanilla ice cream...

We're only in the beginning of August, but I feel like the summer is almost over. I know it is only in my head. The fact that I'm moving to rainy Bergen in less than a week, and starting school in two weeks hastens the fall, I guess. Don't get me wrong. -I've been looking forward to this fall since January. I am very excited about the fall. It will be a great fall. Even in rainy Bergen. Actually it will be best in Bergen, because that's where I'm going to be, and I really like to think that I am at the best possible place at the best possible time.

Anyway, I thought I'd wrap up this summer with a few pictures.

Here we had my aunt and uncle visiting us in Risør one day. We decided to barbeque. It was of course my suggestion. Love barbequeing.

This is me eating burnt pizza at Stangholmen, Risør. Eccept from burnt food, Stangholmen is a wonderful place where I have went sunbathing and swimming several summers. I also attended a concert with Sondre Lerche there once. Very good.

My grandma turned 90 in June. We went to Risør to celebrate her together with my aunt, grandma's sister and brother, and her neighbours through thirty-fourty years. I think she had a really good time even though she didn't remember it was her birthday, and didn't recognise me.

I guess I should have had my picture taken in my work outfit at ICA Theresesgate. After all it is inside of that store I have spent most of this summer.

2008-08-03T20:41:00.015+02:00

Edinburgh5

I have a bad habbit of being too ambitious about taking photos on trips like the one to Edinburgh. It often results in taking tons of pictures the first couple of days, and none on the following, as it did this time. Luckily my dad has better judgement of what's worth shooting, so after looking through his pics, I took the freedom of stealing some of them to blog with...

I can't say I'm a royalist, but I nevertheless found it interesting and fun that the Queen was around while we visited the city. Mom and dad even got to see her and her husband while they were driving down the royal mile. There was this big parade and lots of people there to watch.

Edinburgh has a botanic garden, which we made sure to visit. It was big, beautiful and a perfect place to relax.

Here's Einar and I on our way up to Arthur's seat.

This is on Calton hill.

And to the right there's me on my way up to the castle.

2008-08-03T00:14:00.012+02:00

Edinburgh4
I really liked Edinburgh. Really, really liked it. There was something about the atmosphere in the city making me feel at home. Not that it reminded me of my home in Norway, but I could easily make myself feel at home there. I was there for only four days, so of course I can’t know for sure if I’d like living there, but it made me want to go back.

We only had time to see the typical tourist attractions. Actually there were many attractions we didn’t have time to see, which I thought was kind of sad. I think I could have stayed for an entire month without getting bored. I really enjoyed just walking around the town looking at people, buildings, pubs and shops… We also went up to Arthur’s seat, which I really enjoyed. I have never went hiking with shopping bags and a purse before, and felt kind of stupid bringing it all, but as my dad said; this is such a small mountain from a Norwegian point of view, so we don’t even consider it a real hike. After all they call it the city park. I guess I’m excused if I looked a bit like I didn’t know what I was doing. Heehee…

I also had the best milkshake ever at a hamburger restaurant in the royal mile, called Wannaburger. They had really good burgers too. (I guess burgers and shakes aren’t what I should be reporting from Edinburgh, but I enjoyed it very much. *grin*)

Of course we went to see the castle.

We also took a sightseeing bus, and learned a lot about Sean Connery… I do like to watch James Bond, so I didn’t mind. Einar and I went for two ghost tours as well, which I had been very sceptical to, since I hate horror movies and similar things, and consequently never watch anything like it. My brother likes watching horror movies, and maybe this was the reason why he found it scarier than I did. (Neither of us thought it was very frightening anyhow…) It was actually a bit fun. We also saw Mary King’s close, which was more interesting. It was like a very interesting history lesson full of superstition. ;)

Oh, and I also had one of the best desserts ever at Maxies bistro and wine bar at Johnston Terrace. It was some kind of chocolate fudge cake with ice cream and cream (not whipped as we thought it would be, but that was even better.) Any chocolate lover visiting Edinburgh should go there and try it. ;)

2008-08-02T22:21:00.003+02:00

Today I had my last day of work in the supermarket. I have been working there for more than two years, and have really liked it. Yesterday we had cake, as is usual when someone who's been working there for a while quits. It was really nice. But even though I have enjoyed it, I am very glad to have finished that period, because that means something new is about to get started! I am very excited about what plans God has for me in Bergen.

2008-08-02T15:42:00.003+02:00

Edinburgh3

There was a great view in more than one direction from the top of Calton hill. Here are mom and dad taking pictures.

Then There's Einar studying the information board.

2008-08-01T22:53:00.003+02:00

Edinburgh2
We went for a walk as soon as we could after arriving Edinburgh. As I didn't know very much about the city before I went there, I was surprised to find this greek looking monument on top of Calton hill. I have been to Athens once, and both Acropolis and Calton hill with their monuments and green spots made me feel like I was miles away from a large city.

2008-07-31T00:55:00.006+02:00

Edinburgh
My brother and I had a laugh at the names of these two places lying diagonally in a cross road. I guess you'd have to be Norwegian to understand. -or maybe just very silly.

2008-07-30T23:05:00.006+02:00

I was in Edinburgh together with mom, dad and Einar, my brother, in the beginning of July. I loved it! I'm going to post a few pictures from the trip over the next few days.

Taking this picture was one of the first things I did when I got there. It's taken very close to the hotel we stayed at.

There were lots of these flowers there.

2008-07-30T22:41:00.003+02:00

It won't be long now before I move to Bergen to go to bible school. I am so excited about it. I think God is going to be teaching me a great deal of things, and it's going to be so good for me. I have two main expectations for my bible school year. The first thing is of course that I'll learn to know God and his word better. A lot better. The second thing is that I believe he will show me more of what direction my life will take. It's been a while now where I haven't known at all what I'd be doing in a year or two, or even ten years. But lately God has brought up some old dreams of mine and even given me some new ones, and I am so excited to see what more he has to say about that.
I have only two days left at my job in the supermarket, and even though I have really liked my job, I am so excited about quitting, because I can't wait to see what God has planned for me in Bergen. I really feel like this coming year is going to be a really important year for me.

2008-07-27T23:54:00.003+02:00

I am so blessed with many good friends. This summer I get to live with my friends Inger Kari and Iselin at Sagene in Oslo. They are both away this week, but now my friend Kaja stays here as well. Today her boyfriend Lars Martin has been here, and we have had dinner together. Yesterday I was at the beach together with Kaja, Lars Martin and my other friends Selja, Kjetil and Paul among others. The weather was beautiful and we had a good and relaxing time. After that some of us watched a movie (which unfortunately was really poor). This is what is so great about summer. -friends, hanging out, the beach, active days outside and late nights with movies and talking inside.
And then there is books. Good books. Lots of good books.

2008-05-12T23:40:00.002+02:00

Jeg har hatt en veldig bra pinsehelg. Foruten å jobbe på lørdag, og å blant annet se en dokumentar om pirater i dag (hehe), har jeg hatt gleden av å være med på felleskristen pinsefeiring i går, i Storsalen og Filadelfia. Veldig bra, altså! Jeg fikk være med å synge i koret, og det er ingenting som å få prise Gud sammen med andre til stort band og mye trøkk. :) Det er så bra å få kjenne på at Gud faktisk har bare én menighet i Oslo, ikke mange små, og at vi alle hører sammen, og elsker den samme Jesus.
I tillegg er det fortsatt strålende vær, og det er superdeilig. Jeg avsluttet denne pinsehelga med noen runder bedagelig jogging rundt Sankthanshaugen. Digg!

2008-05-04T03:38:00.004+02:00

Det er nesten utrolig hvor mye eplekake jeg klarer å spise i løpet av en kveld... Eplekake, catching up med en sjelden venn, samt en cheesy Hugh Grant-film, utgjør til sammen en ganske så fin mai-kveld.

2008-05-01T01:47:00.001+02:00

Idet jeg trodde jeg skulle sprekke av rastløshet og trang til å flytte på meg, lærer Gud meg å se kortsiktig…
For noen er det kanskje en utfordring å se langsiktig, og sette seg mål og visjoner. Jeg derimot trenger å lære meg å se stort på små ting.
Jeg innså i dag at det å tenke virkelig stort, innebærer mer enn langsiktige mål, store tall og omfattende virksomhet. Det betyr kanskje vel så mye å kunne se det store i det tilsynelatende lille.
Jeg har igjen ca. tre måneder her i hovedstaden før jeg vender nesa vestover mot Norges nest største by for å lese i Bibelen et års tid. Tre måneder. Hva kan vel skje på tre måneder?! -Mye, hvis jeg lar Gud styre skuta, og lærer å bruke Guds målestokk. Gud har fortsatt bruk for meg her.

2008-02-16T12:01:00.005+01:00

Another weekend
It's been a whole week already... I've been working every day this week, as usual, exept that on thursday I spent all of my work day at a cheese course! I'm so lucky to get to work with cheese, and it was really interesting learning more about it. As a matter of fact I didn't know very much about it before. -I just pack and price it, and taste those I haven't tried before. My only judgement of them is either "good" or "not good", or maybe "mild" or "strong". Heehee.

I even got homework. I'm going to focus on one cheese each week for six weeks, and try to raise the sale of it by being creative. If anyone has ideas, please give them to me.

Cheese is fun. And most of them are good too. The only cheese I have tried that I thought was really, really horrible is the Norwegian "Gammelost". It's made of old skim milk and looks like this:
The word "gammelost" means "old cheese". It says quite a bit, even though I learned on thursday that gammelost is actually very young when it comes out for sale. -only about a month.

2008-02-10T14:01:00.000+01:00

Perfect weekend.
Early home from work on friday. Cheese, biscuits and a glass of wine with friends on friday night. Sleeping in on Saturday before cleaning the apartment and doing laundry most of the day. Chilling and doing nothing on Saturday night. Sleeping in again on Sunday morning, waking up to sunshine. Having extra time to be with God, and maybe read or go for a jog. Exactly what I needed this weekend.

2007-12-14T16:58:00.002+01:00

Prayer answered. -again.
It's been long since I wrote. It seems like it becomes more difficult to find good things to write if it's been a while. -the longer between the posts, the more difficult...
Anyway, I just wanted to share something encouraging. Last night a friend dropped by to visit I.K (one of the girls I live with.) She (our friend) has had problems with her leg for a couple of years, and it's been impossible to sit certain ways or sleep in certain possitions. We prayed for her, and she became better at once. It was still hurting a little, but she could suddenly bend it far more than earlier. It is so great when God heals like that.
God also reminded her through me of the words in Luke 11:5-8 where this guy knocks on his neighbour's door in the middle of the night to borrow some bread, where the point is to be patient in prayer. She was reminded of this scripture the day before by different person as well, so we are sure her leg will become perfectly good!

2007-09-09T00:47:00.000+02:00

I wanna go to Britain again...

2007-09-07T19:13:00.000+02:00

Fish. Bread. Ovens. Chicken. Pork chops. Knives. Salads. Meat balls. Meat loaves. Soap. Dishes. Too much water everywhere. Custumers. Smiling people. Grumpy people. Colleagues. Nice colleagues. Jesus in the middle of it all. That is my life these days. Tomorrow is the last day of this working marathon lasting for twelve days. It is a little bit rough on a former student who is not used this kind of work, for this many hours, for this many days in a row. But I like it. I really believe God wants me to be exactly where I am. That is in my local grocery store right down the street, bringing His kingdom to my colleagues and neighbourhood just by being there.

2007-08-29T23:48:00.000+02:00

We had our first gathering after the summer with all of our church tonight. I can't wait to see what this fall will bring! God is good. We talked about discipleship, fellowship, seeing people saved, God's plan for Oslo and other stuff that really gets me on fire. I'm ready to get rid of the remainders of my student life style, and get on with new things. I just feel like I need to change a couple of habits that I have gained over the last years, and get new habits that will help me follow Jesus in a better way.

2007-08-27T21:02:00.000+02:00

New semester. New situation. Long time since last time on here.
Done with school, done with studies. For now.
Eventful summer. Both good and sad. Mostly good. The good was very good, the sad was very sad.

Rainy summer here in Norway. Everyone's complaining. But I've spent ten days in Kyrgyzstan, and that was an experience that marked me. In good ways. Mostly. It was my first trip outside the western world. Oh, how I enjoyed it! It will not be the last.

I'm working in a grocery store this semester. I'm surrounded by bread, chicken and fish. It's something I can like. It's a job, but I make myself find it interesting. And my colleagues -they're nice people.

It's interesting really, working in a grocery store. It's one of very few places where all kinds of people go at least once a week. Everyone needs to eat. I like watching people, and maybe have a little chat. Wondering who they are and what they're like. People make the world interesting.

2007-05-29T15:54:00.000+02:00

"Alene spente han himmelen ut
og skrider fram over havets bølger.
Han skapte Løven og Orion,
Sjustjernen og sørhimmelens stjernebilder.
Ja, han gjør storverk som ingen kan granske,
og under som ingen kan telle."

Job. 9: 8-10.

2007-05-03T20:36:00.000+02:00

Spring's around! And it's making me feel good. The weather is lovely these days, and it's warm outside. I make sure to enjoy it even though I'm busy with exams these days. I'm done with two small final exams, working on a large third one, and have three more coming after that. This coming weekend the great people from my church is going on a trip. I am looking forward to that! (Yes, I'll bring my lap top and work on my exam. :P ... But I'll almost be done by then anyway.) Well, now I'm off to go for a walk and enjoy the pleasant evening and the lovely green spring!

2007-04-09T21:40:00.000+02:00

I’m inspired!

I’ve been to Bergen attending Kristent Fellesskap’s easter conference. It’s been great in every way! I was very inspired, and I got to know many knew people. I stayed with some very hospitable and wonderful girls. They were awesome. I did not know them before I came, but they let me stay with them, and told me to make myself at home and invite people over if I wanted to. That’s obviously how they live. They have an open home with an open fridge. ;) The first afternoon they had about twenty people over for dinner, and the day after there were also a bunch over for dinner. They also had people over for breakfast every morning. –whoever wanted to come. (This works great as long as the guests help out a little.) They simply take God’s word about hospitality and fellowship seriously, and it was truely a blessing to me, and I’m convinced it is a blessing for everyone that comes by their house!
The meetings were great. So inspiring. I think a Christian conference is good when it inspires you to go home and start living out everything that’s been preached and talked about. So many conferences feel great. They’re like a spiritual kick, and when you come home you realize that life is not like that. You just wish you could go back and experience it again. Well, this conference inspired me to go home and live a life lead by the holy spirit and in fellowship with other christians.

It was great to see the holy spirit move, people healed, and hear many testimonies about neighbours and friends that have been saved lately. If that’s how it is in Bergen, it can happen here in Oslo too!! God is awesome!

2007-03-30T10:58:00.000+02:00

How can they not love him?

Matt Redman sings:
”If you know you’re loved by the king,
sing, sing, sing!
If you know you’re loved by the King,
live for Him, live for Him!"
I ask myself whether it’s possible not to love God if you have experienced God’s love. I know some people that call themselves Christians, that grew up in christian families and still keep some faith. They pray every once in a while, but show no passion whatsoever about the name Jesus. I ask myself how that is possible. How can they not love him if they know how much he loves them? God’s love is amazingly great! He, himself, died for my sake. And for your sake. If we know we’re loved by the King, we really ought to sing to him and live for him!

It also strikes me how his love is the only thing that can make me sing to him and live for him. My love for him is simply response to his love for me. I love him only because he loved me first.

2007-03-20T23:15:00.000+01:00

We shine like the stars! (Phil. 2:15)

Today I received Matt Redman's newest cd in the mail. (It's so nice to get "oldfashioned" mail!! Anyway...) I really like Matt Redman's songs. There are some really great songs on there! The song "Shine" is just really expressing my dream! (It is not really my dream, but God's plan.) And I do believe it is happening everywhere there are christians! Things I read about, hear about and things I see prove that. It's just really powerful:

Lord we have seen the rising sun, awakening the early dawn,
And we´re rising up to give you praise.
Lord we have seen the stars and moon, see how they shine,
They shine for you,
And You´re calling us to do the same.
So we rise up with a song, and we rise up with a cry
And we´re giving you our lives.

We will shine like stars in the universe,
Holding out Your truth in the darkest place.
We´ll be living for Your glory,
Jesus we´ll be living for Your glory.
We will burn so bright with Your praise O God,
And declare Your light to this broken world.
We´ll be living for Your glory,
Jesus we´ll be living for Your glory.

Like the sun so radiantly
Sending light for all to see,
Let your holy church arise
Exploding into life,
Like a supernova´s light,
Set your holy church on fire;
We will shine.
So we rise up with a song, and we rise up with a cry
And we´re giving you our lives.
Jesus, we will shine.

It's awesome!

2007-03-11T23:30:00.000+01:00

23 reasons for why I love my church

I love my church because:
They bring me closer to Jesus.
They encourage me.
They inspire me.
We talk about God, Jesus, the bible, and help each other to know Him more.
We’re a house church, and we actually get to know each other.
We’re a house church, and everyone participates and shares with each other.
We’re a house church, and we eat together.
We don’t necessarily meet only once or twice a week, because we know each other and love each other, and hang out anytime, any place, which means we can “have church” anytime, any place!
We worship God together.
We laugh.
We have fun.
We can watch movies or go for a beer together as well as praying or reading the bible together.
We bring words from God himself to each other. (Wow, that’s pretty amazing really!...)
We help each other live our lives with God, not only when we meet, but also during the rest of the week.
I can count on them when I need them.
We have dreams and visions.
I believe in them.
I believe we will grow in number.
I believe we will see many people saved, and great things happen to people.
We’re not only a social club. What we’re up to is a lot more important than that!
We’re spreading God’s kingdom and love in Oslo and everywhere we go.
They help me see with “prophetic eyes”. I don’t do things just to do them. –I do them for a greater reason. This makes everyday life and even boring things very exciting!
And last, but least: We don’t meet on sunday mornings! ;)

2007-03-04T23:16:00.000+01:00

I'm so glad there is such a thing as cinnamon rolls!

-I think cinnamon rolls make the world just a little bit better. ;)

I've had a great weekend i Risør, a tiny and beautiful town by the ocean south in Norway. My wonderful friend Bente lives there, and this weekend I have been down there to visit, which was really nice! One of the things we did, was baking, and I ate many many cinnamon rolls yesterday. Mmmmmmmm!! Thanks Bente! :)

2007-02-27T01:48:00.000+01:00

That summer feeling...

All of a sudden I felt a longing for summer.
Walking around my grandma's garden
watching all the blooming flowers,
listening to the bees buzzing
and smelling the earth.
Feeling the heat of the sun in a silent moment,
then to be refreshed by a cool wind.
Hearing my grandma calling my name
to tell me the waffles and limonade are served.
Later to ride my bike through the golden fields on my way home
thinking that I'm very blessed to have a grandma with a cottage and a garden.

2007-02-19T22:02:00.000+01:00

"Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark."
(Rabindranath Tagore)

2007-02-14T15:01:00.000+01:00

New experience

It seems like half the population of Oslo are sick these days. I've just had my turn. It's so incredibly boring being sick! I hate it! Fortunately these harse colds don't last too long. I'm almost well again.

I had an interesting experience though. During the weekend I was on a trip with a nice bunch of youth leaders from the church at Jessheim. Among other things I was going to lead the worship. My only problem was that I had no singing voice whatsoever. A lot of the time I could only whisper. How interesting to lead worship without being able to sing! I was able to talk loud enough for them to hear me (barely), but singing was hopeless. Still I really felt like I was leading them in worship.
Again that reminded me about what's important when leading worship. It's not about the singing. Of course not! It's about reminding them of who he is and why he is worthy of our time, focus, and praise, isn't it? And about helping them to let go of distractions and other things that keep them from giving him their all.
It was a cool feeling standing not quite in front of them, sort of hiding behind the pianist, just trying to focus on God without being able to hit a note, and every once in a while I'd say something that I felt God may have wanted me to say...
I guess the best way of leading worship is to worship God yourself. Sometimes I feel like God says that to me before I am going to lead worship. I might be a little bit stressed or nervous, or maybe I really really want something exciting to happen, so I ask God how I'm going to do this. Then I often feel like he says "Just worship me!"
That's a relief.

2007-02-02T00:46:00.000+01:00

Oh no! Not another blog about church?…

There are so many of the blogs I drop by that talk about church. House churches, emerging churches, church this and church that... Even though I find it important and interesting, I have also thought that I’m not going to be one of those "church bloggers". Mostly because there are so many wise people saying many wise things about the subject, and I tell myself I have nothing to add.

But now I’ve changed my mind! I have many different kinds of friends. Friends that read my blog. Some are christians, some are not. Some are christians that know a lot about the bible, and some are not. Some have good experiences with the consept “church” and some actually have really bad experiences. People have totally different ideas about what church really is.

Some of my friends believe the church is a building. Mere building. Some other people realize church is more than that, but still have some ideas of the building as something holy in itself. Others know that church really is the fellowship between christians, but still refer to some building as “the church”. I have had great experiences lately that church has got nothing to do with a building!

I belong to a church that owns no building. We meet in each other’s homes every week or as often as we feel like hanging out. I have not lived a more exciting life than after I became part of this church. That is because we function like a church is supposed to. We meet. We eat and have a good time. We catch up with each other. We praise and worship God. We read the bible. We encourage each other. We try to let the holy spirit flow. We don’t need a special building for this to happen! It can happen anywhere.

I want my christian friends that belong to other fellowships to feel free to have church anywhere at anytime. (Its very biblical!) And I want my not-christian friends to understand that being a christian is not about services sunday morning in some holy building. It’s about being changed and starting living the life God created you to live, among fellow christians. No building is holy. God doesn’t dwell in a building anymore (like he used to in Israel). He dwells in every person that received him! That’s why we can have church anywhere at any time! (And that’s how they did it in the bible!) Church is a great thing!

2007-01-28T13:36:00.000+01:00

Sing a new song
to the Lord!
Let the whole earth sing
to the Lord!

Sing a new song
to the Lord,
for he has done wonderful deeds.

I will sing a new song
to you,
O God!

(Psalm 96:1; 98:1; 144:9)

2007-01-27T13:46:00.000+01:00

I took the world's shortest personality test. Tell me, my friends, is this the truth about me? (I especially challenge Bente to answer this question.)

2007-01-27T13:37:00.000+01:00

Your Personality Profile

You are funky, outdoorsy, and down to earth. While you may not be a total hippie... You're definitely one of the most free spirited people around.
You are very impulsive - every day is a new adventure. However, you do put some thought behind all your actions. Still, you do tend to shock and offend people from time to time!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

2007-01-26T01:11:00.000+01:00

Kicking it every tuesday...

Yeah! That's right. I've signed up for a funk dance class. Who would've thought that! I've always had a dream of being a dancer. (Just not big enough to realize.) I used to dance around the living room at home when I was little. I would dance for hours...at least that's how I remember it. I've always loved watching dancers, and thought it would be so great to be able to do whatever they do. So this semester my friend Hanne and I are taking funk dance lessons at the Spin Off dance academy. It is so cool! Yeah, cool is the right word. I've never seen more baggy pants than on our sweet instructor this last tuesday! It looked like she had been flown right in from the backstreets of L.A. or something. And she was really good!! Tuesday nights are going to be a blast.

(Picture from http://www.urbanmyths.org/article.aspx?id=39.)

2007-01-22T14:39:00.000+01:00

A friend of mine, K-V, found a very funny advertisement for this car on finn.no, which is a very serious page for all kinds of advertisements. So all my Norwegian or Norwegian speaking friends out there, you ought to check it out here! It's great!

2007-01-22T13:31:00.000+01:00

Look alikes...

My hilarious Welsh friend Joe wrote about this page on his blog: http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/face-recognition.php. There you can post a picture of yourself (or several like I did) and find out what famous person you look alike. I just want to recommend it if you have some extra time for something funny. I had a big laugh. Except from being matched with people like Nicole Kidman and Gillian Anderson (from X-files. I hate that series, by the way...), I was matched with people like Sean Connery and Eminem! Wow...

2007-01-18T11:36:00.000+01:00

Slow start –so what?

During every holiday I feel like I put God at a distance. I want to be as close to him as always, but it’s something about that holiday life that makes me so busy with other activities, even though I haven’t really been doing a lot of things worth mentioning. Strange, isn’t it?! It’s just hard finding time for God when my everyday routine is spoiled. (Not that I usually really have a routine. That’s student life. Ha ha.) So when the Christmas holidays were over and we had entered the new year, I thought everything would be good again. I would start school, get up in the mornings and start spending time with God. That’s not really what happened. Well, I started school and got up in the mornings, but my bible reading and prayers were still absent. Sigh... Not spending time with God makes me feel bad. I know it’s all about God’s mercy and that he doesn’t try to make me feel guilty, but lack of fellowship makes me more vulnerable.

That’s why it was so great meeting with all my church people last night to have dinner together, and hear that it’s not only me feeling that way. It was good to be reminded that I’m not supposed to “whip myself into shape”. Even though the Bible encourages to work out our salvation (Phil. 2:12) and compares the life of a disciple with being an athlete, who has to work very hard (1. Cor. 9:24-27), it isn’t God’s whip that makes us do it. It is God’s love!

Last week my house group leader, Steffen, read these verses to me:
"7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! 12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Phil. 3)

Ok, I had a slow start in 2007. So what? Now Im pressing forward. To reach God’s love.

2007-01-16T16:13:00.000+01:00

I wanna be a song writer! That's what I wanna be when I grow up.

(Pic from www.flickr.com.)

2007-01-15T09:32:00.000+01:00

Im thinking a lot about what I'll be doing after the summer. I'm done with my studies after this semester, and I dont really know what will happen next. I'd kind of like to work for a while. (Maybe I'll go back to studying more later.) But I don't know where or as what. I like lots of things. But I'm also sure there are lots of jobs I wouldn't like... Right now I have two part time jobs. I work in the bakery in a grocery store right down the street. I also direct a youth choir. I really like both. I don't really care whether the job is related to music (which is my education). At least not yet. I can always do musical things anyway. I think I need some ideas. Does anyone have any ideas for what I can start doing after my graduation? Any suggestion is good. :)

2007-01-08T12:58:00.000+01:00

I have been watching quite a few movies over the last couple of weeks. Christmas vecation gives time for what I don't have so much time for during the rest of the year. Over the last couple of years I have developed a rather great interest in movies. I mean, it's mainly for my umusement. I'm not the kind to analyse and be very critical, I simply enjoy a good story, good actors, nice shots and impressive effects. However, I really fell in love with a movie a saw on TV on boxing day. I just had to buy it. The funny thing is that it's not a typical great movie. The story is simple and it's a cliché. But it is a movie that makes me smile. It's the "High School Musical" from Disney (2006). I love it. The story is perfect if you don't want to get emotionally involved, but just watch something fun. It's full of singing and dancing, and the pictures are colorful. It's also very clean, free from all vulgar humour. And it doesn't really matter that the acting isn't the greatest, because it's not a deep and serious movie. It's a real feel good-movie!

2007-01-02T15:36:00.000+01:00

New years party

in the old parsonage

Thanks to Eivind and Bård Olav, who threw the party.

2006-12-25T14:31:00.000+01:00

The funniest, weirdest and most memorable christmas gift this year...

Angel face...

I thought I might let it lighten up the bathroom or something... :)

2006-12-12T10:11:00.000+01:00

Working on that photographing skill, and it's getting better...

A couple of friends of mine were talking about photographing last night. They have really fancy cameras and everything, which I don't. (Not that fancy.)And I thought: I want to take more pictures again. So I went home and took some pictures of Inger Kari's candles while she was watching Hercule Poirot on the telly. I don't think they're too bad for a beginner. (I've been a beginner a couple of years now...hehe.)

2006-12-10T17:14:00.000+01:00

I have a Christmas tree...

2006-12-08T21:43:00.000+01:00

Now, that's the kind of christmas weather
I wish for... Snow!

2006-12-06T18:23:00.000+01:00

I'm so looking forward to Christmas!

2006-12-05T11:01:00.000+01:00

It's already December 5. And I haven't even started my exams, while others already sleep in and enjoy the christmas preparations. Today I'm turning in my music production assignment. On friday I'll turn in another essay, and next week will be packed with exams. I wish I could go christmas shopping, make christmas cookies and watch the movie Love Actually to get the christmas feeling...
Well, it's not like I don't enjoy what I do though. Last night I had choir. I tought them O holy night in Swedish. We sing it in Swedish here in Norway. I guess no one bothered to translate it into Norwegian. :) I don't mind. I think the Swedish words and the message in it is great. It's actually better than the English text.

O helga natt, o helga stund för världen,
då gudamänskan till jorden steg ned!
För att försona världens brott och synder,
för oss han dödens smärta led.
Och hoppets stråle går igenom världen,
och ljuset skimrar över land och hav.
Folk, fall nu neder, och hälsa glatt din frihet.
: O helga natt, du frälsning åt oss gav. :

Ty frälsar'n krossat våra tunga bojor
Vår jord är fri, himlen öppen nu är
Uti din slav du ser en älskad broder,
och se, din ovän blir dig kär
Från himlen bragte frälsaren oss friden,
för oss han nedsteg i sin stilla grav.
Folk, fall nu neder, och hälsa glatt din frihet.
: O helga natt, du frälsning åt oss gav. :

(Picture from webshots.com)

2006-11-27T11:45:00.000+01:00

Mom's birthday

It was my mom's birthday yesterday. She and dad came into Oslo to take Einar and me out to eat at Big Horn Steak House. (As a typical girl I had chicken, which Inger Kari pretended to be really upset about later, hehe. "You can't go to a steak house and have chicken!"...) Afterwards we went to my place to have some cake. :) It was very nice.

I almost always need to have a pillow in my lap when I sit in a sofa. I've heard that's a girl thing. Does anyone have any ideas why we do that? :)

2006-11-23T18:57:00.000+01:00

Mu.prod., my favorite...
I should be working on that music production assignment I have due on tuesday. So far I really enjoy the music production class, but i got stuck with some challenges on tuesday while I was working with that Pro Tools program. I don't have much experience either with Pro Tools or Macs... But except from that, Mu.prod. is probably the class I enjoy the most this semester. :)

2006-11-17T19:53:00.000+01:00

Platon and music philosophy
I've been working on an essay on the subject music filosophy. I've been writing about Platon and his thoughts about music. It's actually interesting, except that we read from a book that has tooooo long sentences and too many odd words. It's been really hard to concentrate, so last night I gave up on it, and today I have talked me through his strange thinking together with Anne Grethe in my class. After doing that I understood a little more of the book as well. :)

Platon thought music was a divine thing (just like the rest of the greek people at that time.) He also thought that if you hear good music you will become a good person.

I also wrote an essay on my own filosophy about music according to my beliefs. That was even more interesting, because I looked up every scripture in the bible that used the words music, singing, playing and dancing. Then I made a list of music's functions in the bible. That was more than I thought. Maybe I'll blog about that next. :)

2006-11-03T18:02:00.000+01:00

It's been a while!! Too long...
So what am I up to? Hmmm, school... working... choir... hanging out...with friends and Jesus. :) Sleeping. It's difficult to get up in the mornings! Does anyone have any good advice on how to get up early when you love to sleep and love your bed??? ;)

By the way, I'm getting a new bed tomorrow! It's a birthday present from my mom and dad. I'm looking forward to that! And I'm also getting a new stove for the kitchen. How many times in your life do you go shopping for a new stove?!?! It's my first time. :)

(Picture from Scanpix.)

2006-09-24T14:41:00.000+02:00

Oslo KF (my church) went on a trip last weekend. Twenty some people set course for Uvdal, where we have a growing tradition of going every fall. Åge and Ingrid's (leaders of our church) parents (in law) have a cabin there. Of course it wasn't big enough for us all, so we had to rent another large cabin. Really it was a big house... :) We had a great time there talking, laughing, playing games, hiking, praying, worshipping, sharing, eating, eating more and so on. It was great. Here are a few fun pics from our hike on saturday. It was rather short, but VERY steep.

Trying to beat Isak on the way up to the top.
Steffen was a great cook making us "lapper".
Later the gas container set on fire!

Isak and Åge relaxing in the grass.

2006-09-04T10:54:00.000+02:00

Hiking in Jotunheimen.
I went hiking with mom, dad and my brother this weekend. We stayed at Maurvangen, which is very close to Gjende. On saturday we had a four and a half hour trip, which was very nice. Not too far, but that was ok. We had planned to hike on sunday as well, but it was pouring rain... Too bad! Here are some pics from the trip.

2006-08-24T00:08:00.000+02:00

An involuntary presentation of my parents

2006-08-23T15:28:00.000+02:00

"Våg store ting for Gud! Forvent store ting av Gud!"
A friend of mine said this to me today. It means "Venture great things for God. Expect great things from God". I want to live by that.

He also read this to me:
"When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen." (Eph. 3:14-21)

2006-08-23T15:15:00.000+02:00

My brother Einar and I were both home for dinner at our parents' house yesterday. Mom took this picture of us. We kind of look like we don't want to be in the picture, he he. Anyway, I think the following is my favourite picture of my brother. It's taken at a restaurant in Florence last fall. :)

2006-08-22T00:31:00.000+02:00

Today my good friend through several years Elisabeth and I went canoeing on Hurdalsjøen (a big lake not so far from home). We had planned this a while ago and luckily the weather couldn't have been much better. We had a great time paddling, eating (quite a bit), chatting, praying and laughing (We had an incident when I had to "go to the bathroom". There aren't really a lot of bathrooms out there and we stopped by this floating dock with a large water pump on it supplying water for large amounts of timber, and things happened and we had a laugh...)

We had some

really great

views.

Elisabeth and I have both a fascination for toes. I don't know why, but I suspect that it might have to do with the look of our own toes. Hers are quite funny looking, but mine are an attraction. People ask to see my toes if the want a laugh. Take a close look at the picture above if this makes you curious.

2006-08-15T02:42:00.000+02:00

Tonight some friends from home and I went bowling at Jessheim. I hardly ever go bowling, which I could tell. I ended up with fifty or sixty something points (I don't even remember). I've never been very good, but at least I use to be better than that! Anyway, I said I'd start bringing my camera around, and so far I've kept my word, haven't I!

There were nine of us, I think. After one game we left to watch a movie and hang out at Brinken. I had more ice cream than in ages while watching RV, a new comedy with Robin Williams. Funny.

Om RV: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449089/

2006-08-15T02:22:00.000+02:00

Summer means doing all kinds of things I don't have time to do throughout the rest of the year. It often means reading books, watching loads of movies, cooking, going for bike rides and so on. So today I thought it was about time to make some homemade pasta. It's been a rainy day. People complain about bad weather, but I find rainy summerdays very pleasant. First of all rain feels good. Secondly it gives me a good reason to stay indoors and do something fun or cosy, for example making home made pasta.

With some help from the cool and capable Jamie Oliver of whom I used to be a fan I made some wonderful pasta.

Left to dry.

2006-08-13T19:39:00.000+02:00

Hello! I find myself in need of a new blog since blogspirit doesn't offer free service anymore. First I was annoyed, but after thinking it through I thought it might be inspiring to try something different. I mean, I haven't really spent a lot of time blogging lately only because I haven't known what to blog about. So now I have new ambitions to start bringing my camera around more to be able to post more pictures on my blog.

I also like the blogger design a lot better than blogspirit's!