Category: Uncategorized
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Here Comes the Rain Again
We have had heavy rain in Norway these last days. Norwegians are used to all kinds of weather, except dry summers (!), so that usually doesn’t bother us. However, this time it was slightly different. We’ve had a lot of rain. Like, ‘cars and houses disappearing’ kind of rain. You know, the ‘don’t go looking…
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“Who Are You?”
We had a few friends over for tapas last weekend. All of them knew some of the others, but nobody knew all, which always makes it interesting. Even though they came from different backgrounds and walks of life they were all eager to get to know each other, as I knew they would be. I…
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Anniversary, Flamenco and Unborn Symphonies
It took us more than 20 years, but finally, we got to Andalucía. Ever since we lived in Spain we have wanted to see this beautiful part of Southern Spain, but as we were ‘Peter missionaries’ – remember? The ‘silver and gold I do not have’ kind? – we could never afford to travel through…
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25 Years and I Still Do
25 years ago, I married my best friend. I am 45 years old and I have spent 29 of them with this amazing man. All our kids are now older than I was when I met Thomas. Come on! Just saying it out loud sounds so weird and at the same time, so wonderfully right.…
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How Do I Know that God is Real?
I have a dear friend who recently found her way back to the Father. Now she was confused and angry. “I don’t know what to do about this whole faith issue. Whenever I hear people in church talk about how they encounter God, I think to myself, “That is not my experience! I’ve never met…
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In the Aftermath of Hatred
Suddenly, there was a chilling gust from the past. The pointed hoods and pitchforks were replaced by baseball caps and dark sunglasses. Racism somehow got domesticated. Explicable. Understandable. The white nationalist march and subsequent murder of a young woman made us all scream with horror and indignation. I wonder if we would have been equally…
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Tongue-clicking Fools and Other Heroes
I popped by a furniture shop to look for a few things. As I ventured in between beds and sofas I overheard a conversation between two employees. One seemed to be the manager, a tall man in his forties, while the other was younger, energetic, and slightly anxious. I guessed that the younger man was…
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The Landmine in Our Garden
We were on our way to our cabin for a few days of rest when a text message from our neighbor ticked in. “Thomas, I studied the new deck you’ve been working on. Right next to it there’s a device that looks very much like a WWII landmine. Shouldn’t professionals deal with that?” Attached was…
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Splinters, Beams, and the Christian Woodchopping Industry
In a recent conversation, someone asked me to condemn someone I didn’t know for a specific sin committed by that person. I agreed that what had happened was not biblical, but went on to saying that I truly felt sorry for that someone and that it was not up to me to judge him or…
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Family in Mozambique
This is the first summer in a few years that we’re not going to Mozambique. Although we get to spend time with family and friends, we miss it terribly because we’ve made family and friends in Mozambique as well. In the Kingdom of God family is not only about genes and bloodlines, but community, dedication…