Nov 6thTime does fly….

I have not been logged in here for a while. Last entry was in June. Jeeezzze that is a while ago. Well I had vacation in July, then days has just passed. So a quick look on what has happened is that my inlaws were here and we had a great time with them and our best friends. We had the annual church camp at Pengsjö. One of the most beautiful places on earth. So quiet and beautiful. God´s presesens there is so noticeble. You can almost touch it, that is how it feels anyway.

The first night there I went out on a photo shoot after sunset. One of our kids were with me and we ended up on the pier where you usually walk out when you are going for a swim, or get baptised. We lay down on our backs looking at the pitch dark sky with trillions of stars. We talked a bit, but mostly we just lay there enjoying each others company. It was the best evening I have had in a long time. As we lay there looking at the sky we also spent time with God then and there. I could feel his touch on my forhead. That is what life is all about. There on that pier I discovered something that I always knew: 42! What is six times seven? 42. So when we spend time with God in prayer, or in a quiet moment just letting the spirit work within us we get to understand what the meaning of life is and that it is 42. (The human number is six, since it is imperfect and the holy number is seven. So 6X7= 42.

John 6:35 – And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Matthew 6:33 – But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 8:12 – Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Life is short, grab hold of these moments and cherrish them. Life is all about God, just look around you. From the beginning in Genesis 1 to the last verse in the Book of Revelation. God want us to love him with all our heart, soul and mind.

Matthew 22:37 –Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Luke 10:27 – And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

With these words I will end this time.

God´s blessings upon you and your family.

LB

Jun 7thSummer is here!

So it actually did happen even here. Summer has arrived! Now is the time to get baked. Life is put on hold a bit when vacation comes. It is time to visit family, camping and maybe even some ice cream. Just do not forget in all this to spend time with the Lord, our Dad. Do not put Him on hold. This is a perfect time to start a stronger relationship with Him and to find a way to uphold it after vacation is over. Because you will discover that your life will be more at peace and that you are in His hands and mind. He will be there for you, as He always has and always will be.

Philippians 4:6-7″Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Life is not only the now, it is also what will be when we pass on. How we chose to live now will be rewarded later.

Matthew 10:31-33 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

The choise is yours this summer. To start a better relationship with Him or not. I leave it up to you.

Gods blessings!

LB

Mar 22ndSpring is close at hand!

So it finally happened even here in the north as well. Spring is in the starting block. The snow is melting and everything is turning into a greyish slush. Soon the green tender leaves will start to sprout. A new clean sheet is being given. Just as God has done for us. He has forgiven us and taken away our sins. I might have said something about this before, but it is an important thing to remember that we are saved! We that have confessed that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, Gods only begotten son. So there is nothing to fear, because we have been adopted into His family. Our sins have been forgiven and we are restored and lifted up by Him. We have been given a clean sheet that is blank, a new life.

2 Samuel 9

David and Mephibosheth

9 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

² Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“At your service,” he replied.

³ The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”

⁴ “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

⁵ So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

⁶ When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

⁸ Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

⁹ Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. ¹⁰ You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s^[a] table like one of the king’s sons.

¹² Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. ¹³ And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.

If David a human king to do this, then think about what God can do for you when he restores you and lifts you up. Let this be a guide to what God can do for you in your life and remember that you are a new person and part of a big family.

God bless!

Lady Birgitha

 

Mar 8thLife is short. Enjoy every moment!

It is a new snowstorm outside again. I am happy that I am at the moment inside. Soon I will be outside going home. It is going to be a very snowy lady. The leap from the snowstorm to our own anger and hate towards other people that has hurt us is not too far. The hate and anger towards people can just like a snowstorm or storm ruin us from the inside as the emotions are raving on the inside and giving the Devil a foothold. We need our anger, but we have to carefully make sure where and whom we let our anger out on and for how long. We have to make sure that people we are angry with,  have a grudge with or have hurt you, do not take up too much space in our lives. Not for their sake, or for any ones sake but yours. Why is that? Mark 11:25 ^{5 “}And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

It is not as bad as it sounds. If we have something against another person the negative feelings will start consume us and the Dev il will get a foot in. Your anger will lead to hate and hate will lead to the dark side……

I know that it is not easy to forgive some people that has hurt us, but we can always pray for help in this. Remember that God always hear prayer and that he will come to our aid when we ask. When we pray for the ones that hurt us we forgive them and can move on with our lives. If we do not, we will end up stuck in a time loop where we will chew on the same old thing and soon our anger and recensent has made us into a Gollum like creature. Not a pretty sight.

So instead of dwelling on old pains, kneel and pray for healing, help and for his grace. Then raise and feel how he will take your yoke and give you his instead. Now you are ready to move on with your life and leave the old rags behind.

May God´s Mercy and Grace be upon you!

Lady Birgitha

Jan 18thWinter has in deed entered for real!

So Christmas and New Years has come and gone. We have snow and the cold has also entered the scene. It is actually really winter and cold this first month of the year. So a new year and a new beginning. I can tell you that I did no new year resolutions at all. I find it somewhat not my thing. Why would you promise something that you have to rely on your self to keep? How many of you have even ever kept yours longer than maybe a year? We humans are so bad at keeping what we say we will do, and to rely on one self or other humans are to just write your self and others up for disapointment. To relay on humans are not a good idea. So who should one actually rely on? Well I myself put all my trust in God! He has never failed me from the day I said yes to Him and confessed that His son Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.

Proverbs 3:5 ESV 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Jeremiah 17:5-9 ESV 

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

This does not meen that I never trust humans or that He has given me a get out of jail card to use with no limit usage. No I do trust humans and I do relay on people around me. God I realy on always, both in the good times as well as in the hard times.

Nov 30thWhat just happened?

I know I said that winter was lurking, but I think that it has at the moment come to a dead halt. Yesterday it was a storm and just above zero Celsius. Today it is grey and about the same degrees. But we have almost done the decorations for Christmas. It is just the balcony left. Baking starts tomorrow. Countdown for family time has begun.

So time is upside down. Or is it we that are upside down. Things are not what they seem, and whatever seems to be does not. (I know this makes no sense, but that does not seem to be the case of the wether ether. ) It is soon December and winter should be here. But no snow, or cold as far as I can see.  As I look out the window I see the darkness falling behind the heavy grey sky. My mind wanders off to this weekend. To the lights and baking. All the happiness when family comes together. It will be the first of Advent on Sunday. Yes we have entered the time of waiting. What are you waiting for? I for one am waiting for the birth of baby Jesus, the Savior of the world. No I am not going to start a theological debate.

I just want to remind you of why we do celebrate Christmas. It seems to get forgotten in all this crazy shopping time of the year. We want this, the kids want that and then the dog or cat needs a present. Under the tree, if we even see it behind all the gifts.

So why did they wander all the way to Bethlehem? Why is it so important that we remember the real reason for the season? I leave that to you to think about.

Luke 2:1-20 New International Version (NIV)

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a]Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told”

I leave you with this for now.

God bless!

Nov 23rdWinter is creaping up around the corner

As this year is moving to an end, the winter is slowly creaping up on us. Like a wild cat it waits on its prey. In this case the unexpected human. Unexpected you say, it happens ones a year. Yes, but even though it does, we humans try to pretend like it is a new invention every year.

But then again we humans have a history of sticking our heads in the sand, or if I close my eyes it will not see me. God has over the centuries tried to keep us from behaving like headless chickens. Some has listened.

If we do not want a complete and utter dark cold winter, we have to stop behaving like small children. With that I mean that if we do not stand up we might have a less human world to wake up to. This kind of winter coldness are harder to get passed. The natural winter will come and go like it should, but the one that is creaping up in our hearts are harder to thaw up.

Hosea 10:12

I said, ‘plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’

So even if it is hard to do, we have to start, before our hearts get frozen solid. Pray that God will keep your heart warm and soft, in that way you will be well equipped for the battle ahead of you. Only with a soft and warm heart can you put on the armour of God.

Nov 16thLife is something that goes on while we do other things

Yes that big thing called life. What is it really? Well you get born and you have life. So life is breathing, flurishing and growing. But you can have life and still be dead. You can be dead tired, dead silent, or just plain dead inside. The two first ones are quickly fixed, more or less. If dead tired, get some extra rest and try to avoid whatever it is that puts you in that place. Dead silent can be fixed with some minor sounds. The third one is a bit more tricky. First one have to find the root to what makes one feel dead inside. This is where one needs help.  A therapist might be able to find the root, but to remove it is not their thing. They can point it out, but to fix it you need someone with a deeper knowledge.

There is help to get, you just need to see it. Seek and you shall find. Ask and you shall resieve. Knock and a door shall open. When you turn to the one that give life that last, the deathness inside will go away. He will renew and refresh you and your life.

Isaiah 41:18“I will open rivers on the bare heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water And the dry land fountains of water.

Titus 3:5He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

This is what life can be like, when we let God move in and renew us. The deadness goes away and we feel life flowing inside of us. We feel the transformation from being dead to becoming alive with a new life and purpose.

God bless!

Nov 9thGrey and foggy November

It is Friday again and November is in the second week. But it is strange tidings, since it is slightly warm, grey and the fog is hanging like a wet blanket over the sky. It could be taken out of any old horror movie, like count Dracula or Frankenstines monster.

But just as well it could be our own minds from time to time. Ever felt like you are in the dark and have  a hard time to find the light switch? Like you are trying to see, but your sight is dimmed? That is the grey november fog that comes into your mind from time to time. It stays longer or shorter times, depending on how we manage to handle it.

It takes longer if we try to do it on our own and shorter if we pray about it and let the good Lord help us out.

In other words, it takes trust in our Abba to get it done. One have to take a step of faith and reach out into the fog praying that the good Lord to step in and clear our mind for us. He will grab your hand and pull you through.

1 Thessalonians 5:21

But test everything; hold fast what is good.

God bless!

Oct 19thFall is here and death is doing the rounds for the season.

How nice is it not to sit with a cup of hot tea with good friends while the darkness falls outside. The yellow, red and orange leaves has laid a colorful carpet, protecting the ground, just as God would like to protect you. Are you willing to give up your old life and join Jesus the son of God in a new life?

1 Corintians 10:13,  No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Isaiah 41:10,  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Proverbs 2:11, Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.

Think about this when you go to bed at night. God has you surrounded in his care and love.

This does not mean in any way that you never will have hardships, or that God do not love you or cares for you. Even though the leaves protects the ground at winter, so that the seeds and other things that grows can continue in the resedue of the leaves in the spring, the ground freezes. When God protects us, the method is similar. The hardships will polish us and shape us. With his help we will grow and become the person he already knew we would  be.

God bless!