Today we learned about the catastrophe earth quake hitting Haiti. Up to a quarter of a million people might be dead.
The media talks about it in it's normal very close minded way. They interview the Americans living and working in Haiti, a husband is happy to find his wife though caught for 10 hours in the rubble is OK. Matt Lauer says, I'm so happy to hear you and your family are fine, and the husband on the phone says, yes, but there are 1000's of people outside in the streets that are not...
Later in the afternoon I hear Pat Robertson have a answer to why Haiti was hit, the same answer he gave to why the Big Easy was hit by Katrina... They have sinned and brought it on themselves....
While all this is unfolding on the news I'm reading an old book by Adrian Plass called An Alien at St. Wilfred's.
An absolutely wonderful book that everyone who like me wrestles with the question if there's a God or not and if there is, what is he like? HAS to read.
In that book I get to know the God and the Jesus that I used to think I knew back in Sweden, a life time ago, again. The kind, soft spoken, loving God. A God so far from the evangelical right wing you can imagine, A God that men like Pat Robertson have never ever heard of.
I miss that God.
There's a place in my heart and mind wishing so bad that the God portraited in Adrian Plass' book, the God I met in worship in my little house group back in Sweden, is the I AM.
And that the God the evangelical right wing people believes in is just a horrible character in a bad scary movie.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Christmas In A Box
Oh, today it came...
The box of stuff from my mom and dad in Sweden.
As usual it was packed, taped, stringed and wrapped by my dad with a determination that would have made Houdini doubt his talent.
when I finally broke in to the big banana box it was loaded with stuff. My mom has been busy knitting socks and mittens to everybody. Erik hates wearing gloves and complained so mormor heard it that he wanted new mittens, like those mormor makes... So she did... 4 pair for Erik, 4 for Syssa and 4 pairs of socks for each too and also a beautiful button up sweater for Syssa.
Then there was a white hat, scarf and mittens that Sissi grabbed and claimed hers right away, so as I said she has stayed busy for a while.
The next layer of stuff was candy.... loads of candy, on bag of sweet, one of sour and one of liquorice. Add to that 2 huge bags of "skumtomtar" and 6 boxes of "viol", two bags of gum and two package of Singoalla cookies with liquorice.
Next layer; Cheese , five tubes of shrimp cheese and ham cheese.
Six dish brushes ( they are so expensive here so every year since I moved here my mom has supplied me with them)
Then came some wrapped presents not to be opened until Christmas, but I think I know what's in them all. My wonderful Aunt and Uncle always send me a crossword puzzle magazine and I think I saw it rolled up and wrapped this year as well.
So I sit down, overlooking everything, trying to take it all in, while popping a "skumtomte" in my mouth and then comes the overwhelming feeling when I smell it....
the smell of my mom and dad...
I'm 42 years old but at that moment I almost started crying for my mom.
All the candy and goodies are great but the best thing for sure was to sit down with one of my moms home knitted mittens and sniff the smell of home from across the ocean
The box of stuff from my mom and dad in Sweden.
As usual it was packed, taped, stringed and wrapped by my dad with a determination that would have made Houdini doubt his talent.
when I finally broke in to the big banana box it was loaded with stuff. My mom has been busy knitting socks and mittens to everybody. Erik hates wearing gloves and complained so mormor heard it that he wanted new mittens, like those mormor makes... So she did... 4 pair for Erik, 4 for Syssa and 4 pairs of socks for each too and also a beautiful button up sweater for Syssa.
Then there was a white hat, scarf and mittens that Sissi grabbed and claimed hers right away, so as I said she has stayed busy for a while.
The next layer of stuff was candy.... loads of candy, on bag of sweet, one of sour and one of liquorice. Add to that 2 huge bags of "skumtomtar" and 6 boxes of "viol", two bags of gum and two package of Singoalla cookies with liquorice.
Next layer; Cheese , five tubes of shrimp cheese and ham cheese.
Six dish brushes ( they are so expensive here so every year since I moved here my mom has supplied me with them)
Then came some wrapped presents not to be opened until Christmas, but I think I know what's in them all. My wonderful Aunt and Uncle always send me a crossword puzzle magazine and I think I saw it rolled up and wrapped this year as well.
So I sit down, overlooking everything, trying to take it all in, while popping a "skumtomte" in my mouth and then comes the overwhelming feeling when I smell it....
the smell of my mom and dad...
I'm 42 years old but at that moment I almost started crying for my mom.
All the candy and goodies are great but the best thing for sure was to sit down with one of my moms home knitted mittens and sniff the smell of home from across the ocean
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
A New Scare...
Why are we so scared about absolutely everything here in the US?
It's like we have to find something that scares the crap out of us all the time.
This morning it's baby cribs.
All news stations report a huge recall on all fold down cribs because there has been 4 deaths reported. The side has somehow detached and babies have fallen in between the bed and the rails and suffocated.
The experts are on the news tell all parents with very concerned voices not put their babies in the cribs no more. Toss the crib out and buy a new one.
How many babies are born in the US every year? more than 4 million. And lets say a baby stay in it's crib on average about 2 and a half years. That means that on any given day 10 million babies and toddlers sleep in a crib. Among them I think at least half sleep in cribs with fold down sides so out of 5 million babies 4 have died?
I'm not saying the 4 deaths are not each and and every one of them a tragedy, but in comparison are they worth a total uproar and tumult to upset the oh, so easy to scare population? Isn't it enough with the swine flu, terror threats and diarrhea causing tomatoes, spinach or broccoli ?
Car Crash Stats: There were nearly 6,420,000 auto accidents in the United States in 2005. The financial cost of these crashes is more than 230 Billion dollars. 2.9 million people were injured and 42,636 people killed. About 115 people die every day in vehicle crashes in the United States -- one death every 13 minutes.
Health Care Insurance Stats: Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year -- one every 12 minutes -- in large part because they lack health insurance and can not get good care.
With that in mind, can you understand why the sofas in the newsrooms are lined up with experts telling you not to eat broccoli, or to toss the crib you've had your baby in for the last year?
And then, understand why you've never heard experts warning you to take your baby on a car ride? Or warn you to never ever put your teenager in a car (after all they make up half the deaths in traffic every day -- one every 26 minute --)? Why don't you hear a outcry from the experts to ASAP get health insurance for every American?
I wonder why?
It's like we have to find something that scares the crap out of us all the time.
This morning it's baby cribs.
All news stations report a huge recall on all fold down cribs because there has been 4 deaths reported. The side has somehow detached and babies have fallen in between the bed and the rails and suffocated.
The experts are on the news tell all parents with very concerned voices not put their babies in the cribs no more. Toss the crib out and buy a new one.
How many babies are born in the US every year? more than 4 million. And lets say a baby stay in it's crib on average about 2 and a half years. That means that on any given day 10 million babies and toddlers sleep in a crib. Among them I think at least half sleep in cribs with fold down sides so out of 5 million babies 4 have died?
I'm not saying the 4 deaths are not each and and every one of them a tragedy, but in comparison are they worth a total uproar and tumult to upset the oh, so easy to scare population? Isn't it enough with the swine flu, terror threats and diarrhea causing tomatoes, spinach or broccoli ?
Car Crash Stats: There were nearly 6,420,000 auto accidents in the United States in 2005. The financial cost of these crashes is more than 230 Billion dollars. 2.9 million people were injured and 42,636 people killed. About 115 people die every day in vehicle crashes in the United States -- one death every 13 minutes.
Health Care Insurance Stats: Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year -- one every 12 minutes -- in large part because they lack health insurance and can not get good care.
With that in mind, can you understand why the sofas in the newsrooms are lined up with experts telling you not to eat broccoli, or to toss the crib you've had your baby in for the last year?
And then, understand why you've never heard experts warning you to take your baby on a car ride? Or warn you to never ever put your teenager in a car (after all they make up half the deaths in traffic every day -- one every 26 minute --)? Why don't you hear a outcry from the experts to ASAP get health insurance for every American?
I wonder why?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Sunshine On My Christmas Aching Heart
I don't know if I have really got settled in here in Colorado yet.
I have the itch and feel kind of uprooted most of the time.
I spend time on realtor.com searching for homes here and there all over our country, focusing on upper mid west.
The mountains are beautiful, the weather is great, and the house is OK, but there's something missing, and all I can think of is the grass.
But, now the last couple of days the sun has been shining on me, the snow on the ground makes that squeaking sound when you walk on it, the smell in the air has that very familiar, friendly smell that brings me back to my childhood.
While Syssa is in school I abandon the messy kitchen, the piles of newly washed clothes that begs to be folded and put up, and just leave the house. Dressed like a Eskimo I take off and just walk for hours, letting my thoughts wander to where ever they want to go.
It's a wonderful feeling! You have to remember, I have been in the south for the last 10 years and haven't had a winter since I left Sweden.
It's a split feeling though, and it's hard to describe.
I love my life with my family and don't wish for anything else, and at the same time I miss my roots, my upbringing, my HOME back in Sweden.
The fact that Christmas is approaching doesn't help of course.
I grew up with the most predictable Christmases you can imagine. I mean, you could set your watch after what we did and when. And shame on you if you for a second thought you could change any of that. And who would want to change it?
It was perfect...
We were together cousins, aunts and uncles, moms and dads and our grandparents when they were still alive. We ate and ate and ate, we sang all the Christmas songs in pretty harmonies, some song that we knew the first two lines of and filed in with raj, raj raj after we ran out of the other words, and some African anti Apartheid songs.... that's too long of a story to explain why, but let me just say that my grandma loved it so we first sang it to her and after she died we sang it because she would have loved to hear it... ( told you we had a wacko Christmas) , and read the Gospel Luke chapter 2. My grandpa said a prayer and blessed the whole family and then finally was there time for presents!!! We gave them all out but nobody could open any until it was their turn. We usually did it in order youngest to oldest even though my grandma always cheated. Well with 15 people taking turns to open presents it took a good two hours or more to open everything and after all that we had to have some more food, rice porridge and coffee with tons of cookies. Christmas eve lasted almost to Christmas morning every year.
So that's what I left, and that's what I carry within me. My family trying to easy the feeling of abandoned and being left out, by calling me right after opening the presents and right before the porridge, and bless their heart for doing that.
I have the itch and feel kind of uprooted most of the time.
I spend time on realtor.com searching for homes here and there all over our country, focusing on upper mid west.
The mountains are beautiful, the weather is great, and the house is OK, but there's something missing, and all I can think of is the grass.
But, now the last couple of days the sun has been shining on me, the snow on the ground makes that squeaking sound when you walk on it, the smell in the air has that very familiar, friendly smell that brings me back to my childhood.
While Syssa is in school I abandon the messy kitchen, the piles of newly washed clothes that begs to be folded and put up, and just leave the house. Dressed like a Eskimo I take off and just walk for hours, letting my thoughts wander to where ever they want to go.
It's a wonderful feeling! You have to remember, I have been in the south for the last 10 years and haven't had a winter since I left Sweden.
It's a split feeling though, and it's hard to describe.
I love my life with my family and don't wish for anything else, and at the same time I miss my roots, my upbringing, my HOME back in Sweden.
The fact that Christmas is approaching doesn't help of course.
I grew up with the most predictable Christmases you can imagine. I mean, you could set your watch after what we did and when. And shame on you if you for a second thought you could change any of that. And who would want to change it?
It was perfect...
We were together cousins, aunts and uncles, moms and dads and our grandparents when they were still alive. We ate and ate and ate, we sang all the Christmas songs in pretty harmonies, some song that we knew the first two lines of and filed in with raj, raj raj after we ran out of the other words, and some African anti Apartheid songs.... that's too long of a story to explain why, but let me just say that my grandma loved it so we first sang it to her and after she died we sang it because she would have loved to hear it... ( told you we had a wacko Christmas) , and read the Gospel Luke chapter 2. My grandpa said a prayer and blessed the whole family and then finally was there time for presents!!! We gave them all out but nobody could open any until it was their turn. We usually did it in order youngest to oldest even though my grandma always cheated. Well with 15 people taking turns to open presents it took a good two hours or more to open everything and after all that we had to have some more food, rice porridge and coffee with tons of cookies. Christmas eve lasted almost to Christmas morning every year.
So that's what I left, and that's what I carry within me. My family trying to easy the feeling of abandoned and being left out, by calling me right after opening the presents and right before the porridge, and bless their heart for doing that.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
An Other Sad Day For Love.
Yesterday as the 31 state in the union, Maine voted NO to allow gays the same right as every one else, to love and commit to an other person, in sickness and health, in rich or poor.
It's some what surprising to me, I thought Maine as a NE more open minded state would reject the conservative narrow minded view, but I was wrong.
My take on the issue is to scrap the marriage word and go for civil unions all across the board. It will give the gays and lesbians the same rights under the law and that's the most important step. What it's called is up to what ever you want to call it.
I don't for a second think that the Christian right (who is neither Christians or right, if you ask me) will let that pass either, because to them, you have to live the way they preach, they just can't deal with anything less than that.
If we don't want to live in a theocracy much like what we see in the middle east, now is the time to stand up against these people. You know they will not step back until they have a country based on what they think is biblical grounds.
A vast majority of them have no idea what biblical grounds are, since they have never read the bible and understood the trouble they are asking for, but that's an other subject.
Ask yourself, do I want the government telling me who I can love? Is my marriage really that fragile that it's threatened by a couple of the same gender down the street living a quiet suburb life just like I do? If so, maybe your marriage needs counseling?
It's some what surprising to me, I thought Maine as a NE more open minded state would reject the conservative narrow minded view, but I was wrong.
My take on the issue is to scrap the marriage word and go for civil unions all across the board. It will give the gays and lesbians the same rights under the law and that's the most important step. What it's called is up to what ever you want to call it.
I don't for a second think that the Christian right (who is neither Christians or right, if you ask me) will let that pass either, because to them, you have to live the way they preach, they just can't deal with anything less than that.
If we don't want to live in a theocracy much like what we see in the middle east, now is the time to stand up against these people. You know they will not step back until they have a country based on what they think is biblical grounds.
A vast majority of them have no idea what biblical grounds are, since they have never read the bible and understood the trouble they are asking for, but that's an other subject.
Ask yourself, do I want the government telling me who I can love? Is my marriage really that fragile that it's threatened by a couple of the same gender down the street living a quiet suburb life just like I do? If so, maybe your marriage needs counseling?
Saturday, September 5, 2009
If Jesus Had A Say
-We would never go to war-ever!
Jesus said in the sermon of the mount:
But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
We would be the most anti violence country on the planet!!
-We would have happy tax payers.
Tax payers that willingly gave to the government what ever it asked for
Jesus answered when asked about taxes:
"Whose portrait is this?(on the money) And whose inscription?"
"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
-We would have no poor people and health care for all
Jesus said very clearly when asked about the two most important laws:
Love God and love your neighbor as yourself
And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
He did not mention if the neighbor was black, poor, on well fare, gay, a single mom, sick in need of care, or just plain lazy, so we have to assume the neighbor could have been any of that!
-And maybe we would even not be that afraid of the word socialism?
When you read Acts, which takes place after Jesus have left his followers, you can read what they with Peter as their new leader decided to do.
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
Sounds pretty close to socialism to me!
To give you a hint on what God thought about the "followers" that didn't give everything to the apostles to distribute to them in need...
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.
Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
I like your Christ,
I don't like your Christians
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ
-MK Gandhi
Jesus said in the sermon of the mount:
But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
We would be the most anti violence country on the planet!!
-We would have happy tax payers.
Tax payers that willingly gave to the government what ever it asked for
Jesus answered when asked about taxes:
"Whose portrait is this?(on the money) And whose inscription?"
"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
-We would have no poor people and health care for all
Jesus said very clearly when asked about the two most important laws:
Love God and love your neighbor as yourself
And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
He did not mention if the neighbor was black, poor, on well fare, gay, a single mom, sick in need of care, or just plain lazy, so we have to assume the neighbor could have been any of that!
-And maybe we would even not be that afraid of the word socialism?When you read Acts, which takes place after Jesus have left his followers, you can read what they with Peter as their new leader decided to do.
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
Sounds pretty close to socialism to me!
To give you a hint on what God thought about the "followers" that didn't give everything to the apostles to distribute to them in need...
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.
Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
I like your Christ,
I don't like your Christians
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ
-MK Gandhi
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
I'm tired
Now I'm getting really frustrated.
I see all these town hall meetings with Hitler signs and Obama as the Joker. The people holding the signs are mostly white, ultra right wing, religious nut cases. They get their share and more of publicity in the media. Much more than what they deserve.
I'm going to tell you right now, there's not anything even close to Christ like with people like that.
Have any of the ultra conservative so called religious people even read the bible? Have they read Matt. 5-7?
Can give me a more hateful, close minded, further away from Jesus, person than a Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity follower?
Let's break it down:
Public Option Health Care.
If they have their health care and are happy with it, what in Jesus' teaching is telling them that letting others have what they have is bad? And if government run Health Care is just not the way they want it, why don't I see them and their church out helping them without health care, getting the care they need, the money they need?
As a matter of fact, why don't I ever see them and their church outside helping others?
No, instead they sit inside their churches, patting themselves on the back.
They're appalled by the gays, by the abortion doctors, by Obama. But they loved Haggin's teaching, they cheered on Bush's preemptive strike on Iraq, killing Innocent Iraqis is somewhat pro life?
They see the right to use their gun and kill to protect themselves and their property even though Jesus said, turn the other cheek, and if someone ask for your shoes, give him your coat as well?
They're against abortion but for death penalty?
They are against government' taking their money but think it's OK for the government to direct others what they can do in their bedroom and with whom?
If they strongly believe everyone that don't share their faith go to hell, why do they still sit in their pew instead of being out helping others, and spreading the gospel?
I tell you why, because there's nothing Christ like in them!
They try their hardest to suck everything out of the government, run the system, find loop holes, cheat on their taxes, just like everyone else.
So, I'm a firm believer in the 1st amendment so I by no mean want them to shut up, I have one request though, until they have read the bible, and fully understood the Sermon on the Mount, I just ask them to drop the Christian part, because they as their Muslim extreme counterparts, are giving the true believers a bad name.
I see all these town hall meetings with Hitler signs and Obama as the Joker. The people holding the signs are mostly white, ultra right wing, religious nut cases. They get their share and more of publicity in the media. Much more than what they deserve.
I'm going to tell you right now, there's not anything even close to Christ like with people like that.
Have any of the ultra conservative so called religious people even read the bible? Have they read Matt. 5-7?
Can give me a more hateful, close minded, further away from Jesus, person than a Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity follower?
Let's break it down:
Public Option Health Care.
If they have their health care and are happy with it, what in Jesus' teaching is telling them that letting others have what they have is bad? And if government run Health Care is just not the way they want it, why don't I see them and their church out helping them without health care, getting the care they need, the money they need?
As a matter of fact, why don't I ever see them and their church outside helping others?
No, instead they sit inside their churches, patting themselves on the back.
They're appalled by the gays, by the abortion doctors, by Obama. But they loved Haggin's teaching, they cheered on Bush's preemptive strike on Iraq, killing Innocent Iraqis is somewhat pro life?
They see the right to use their gun and kill to protect themselves and their property even though Jesus said, turn the other cheek, and if someone ask for your shoes, give him your coat as well?
They're against abortion but for death penalty?
They are against government' taking their money but think it's OK for the government to direct others what they can do in their bedroom and with whom?
If they strongly believe everyone that don't share their faith go to hell, why do they still sit in their pew instead of being out helping others, and spreading the gospel?
I tell you why, because there's nothing Christ like in them!
They try their hardest to suck everything out of the government, run the system, find loop holes, cheat on their taxes, just like everyone else.
So, I'm a firm believer in the 1st amendment so I by no mean want them to shut up, I have one request though, until they have read the bible, and fully understood the Sermon on the Mount, I just ask them to drop the Christian part, because they as their Muslim extreme counterparts, are giving the true believers a bad name.
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