God Jul alle sammen! (Merry Christmas everyone!)
I am sitting in the living room of a lovely Norwegian house enjoying the fabulous Christmas tree and AMAZING snowy view of the trees outside. I arrived last night to spend my Christmas holiday with the Løvbutken family. What a blessing!!!!
We have just finished watching the ever so infamous "Askepott" movie (Cinderella). The awesome thing about this version is that it is a Czech movie that is dubbed in Norwegian and the same voice is speaking for every character! It's a traditional Norwegian classic that is aired EVERY year on the national tv station on December 24th. It has become one of my favorite Christmas movies.
I am looking forward to relaxing and enjoying this holiday. This is my 4th Norwegian Christmas and I can say that I am quite fond of Christmas in Norway. It is different and there are definitely some things that I miss but the warmth, kindness and family atmosphere is most important.
Next week I guess Bobbi will have another opportunity for skiing and probably a lot of snow time. The weather is quite cold and here just outside the city there is more than enough snow. I will have to post pictures very soon of the wintery wonderland.
I pray that everyone has a blessed and wonderful holiday season.
BJ
fredag 24. desember 2010
mandag 20. desember 2010
Cold, tired and what a wonderful weekend!
Weekend in review:
Friday: German Christmas party with amazing friends, great gifts: hand knitted mittens and 1 kilo of Italian espresso, amazing food: I ate duck for the first time and adventures in running to the t-bane through the snow.
Saturday: Shopping in the snow, making lasagna for a friend's birthday party, Jesus Revolution Christmas party: an annual award named after me! (the Bobbi Jo servant of the year award), Slumber party for friend who gave us more gifts than she received!!
Sunday: American breakfast: eggs, bacon, biscuits, fried potatoes and cinnamon rolls!! Shopping in the snow again, Jesus Church: amazing preaching, Jesus Revolution Leadership writing mountain trip: 4 hours in the car, knee deep snow, brand new Norwegian cabin in the middle of nowhere, um.....wow.
Monday: Wake-up: breakfast, coffee, worship, prayer, writing, lunch, coffee, SNOW, writing, car for 2 hours, pizza, car for 1.5 more hours, HOME.
what a weekend!! :)
Friday: German Christmas party with amazing friends, great gifts: hand knitted mittens and 1 kilo of Italian espresso, amazing food: I ate duck for the first time and adventures in running to the t-bane through the snow.
Saturday: Shopping in the snow, making lasagna for a friend's birthday party, Jesus Revolution Christmas party: an annual award named after me! (the Bobbi Jo servant of the year award), Slumber party for friend who gave us more gifts than she received!!
Sunday: American breakfast: eggs, bacon, biscuits, fried potatoes and cinnamon rolls!! Shopping in the snow again, Jesus Church: amazing preaching, Jesus Revolution Leadership writing mountain trip: 4 hours in the car, knee deep snow, brand new Norwegian cabin in the middle of nowhere, um.....wow.
Monday: Wake-up: breakfast, coffee, worship, prayer, writing, lunch, coffee, SNOW, writing, car for 2 hours, pizza, car for 1.5 more hours, HOME.
what a weekend!! :)
lørdag 11. desember 2010
The Christmas Season
As I sit here I am listening to the Spotify collection of Bing Crosby Christmas music...it's making me very homesick! Nothing beats my family's themed Christmas tree (last year's coca-cola tree was awesome), mom's AMAZING sugar cookies, the giant blow up moose in the front yard and all the great Christmas movies we watch together through the season.
Although, I do have to admit I like having a real winter here in Norway which I never had in Seattle, it was always just a lot of rain and wind. This year there is a touch of home, thanks to a very welcomed package from my brother, I even have a blow up bear this year for the garden. There is supposed to be a penguin too but the electrical challenges of things from the US here in Europe never cease to be annoying. Norwegians are definitely a bit more modest in their choice of Christmas decorations but I am glad to have a few American influences around the house this year.
Today I plan to go to the Christmas market down by the harbor and enjoy the hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers. I really do enjoy this season and time of year. During this time it is very common to reflect and think about life, to slow down and give your mind the opportunity to process everything. (of course after you have finished all the shopping, decorating, cooking, baking and etc. etc.) If you don't take the time the whole season is over before you can blink! At least for me now I want to take in all the new traditions while keeping a few of the old ones I can. It's not always easy to live in a different country with a different culture. I think I like the balance of old and new. One day when I have my own family there will be a lot to choose from and then it will be a perfect balance we decide as a family. I look forward to that.
So, as I continue to love God, love people and love life...I am continuously in awe of God's amazing faithfulness despite my external circumstances. Right now I am in process of getting my current working permit visa approved. It's a tough process and since I have been here for 6 years already a few of my options have expired. I am totally at peace and I know that according to Isaiah chapter 55 that God's thoughts and His ways are higher than mine. This gives the reassurance that I am not alone. I understand that God's timing is perfect and I believe He has something in store that is just out of this world!
So, to end this update I will leave you with a picture of me from the fall before snow came and a picture of my new friend Evija from Latvia. We met at Norwegian class and after coming to church she became a Christian!! She is super sweet and it's such a blessing that God has put her in my life. I'll be sure to post some snowy pictures soon too!
Have a great day!!
Although, I do have to admit I like having a real winter here in Norway which I never had in Seattle, it was always just a lot of rain and wind. This year there is a touch of home, thanks to a very welcomed package from my brother, I even have a blow up bear this year for the garden. There is supposed to be a penguin too but the electrical challenges of things from the US here in Europe never cease to be annoying. Norwegians are definitely a bit more modest in their choice of Christmas decorations but I am glad to have a few American influences around the house this year.
Today I plan to go to the Christmas market down by the harbor and enjoy the hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers. I really do enjoy this season and time of year. During this time it is very common to reflect and think about life, to slow down and give your mind the opportunity to process everything. (of course after you have finished all the shopping, decorating, cooking, baking and etc. etc.) If you don't take the time the whole season is over before you can blink! At least for me now I want to take in all the new traditions while keeping a few of the old ones I can. It's not always easy to live in a different country with a different culture. I think I like the balance of old and new. One day when I have my own family there will be a lot to choose from and then it will be a perfect balance we decide as a family. I look forward to that.
So, as I continue to love God, love people and love life...I am continuously in awe of God's amazing faithfulness despite my external circumstances. Right now I am in process of getting my current working permit visa approved. It's a tough process and since I have been here for 6 years already a few of my options have expired. I am totally at peace and I know that according to Isaiah chapter 55 that God's thoughts and His ways are higher than mine. This gives the reassurance that I am not alone. I understand that God's timing is perfect and I believe He has something in store that is just out of this world!
So, to end this update I will leave you with a picture of me from the fall before snow came and a picture of my new friend Evija from Latvia. We met at Norwegian class and after coming to church she became a Christian!! She is super sweet and it's such a blessing that God has put her in my life. I'll be sure to post some snowy pictures soon too!
Have a great day!!
mandag 6. desember 2010
Finally!
Hello, everyone! This is just a short update to say I am finally back in the world of blogging. Not sure why I left but I am ready to start again! There is so much to say and I have so many good things to praise the Lord for. I will take some time this week to give a good long update. I hope you are ready to hear about what's been happening in Bobbi's world! :)
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