Across The Pond

Nostalgia

2012-01-26T15:35:00.000+01:00

I had an 8 hour layover in Chicago on my way to Minneapolis when I flew to the US last week so I decided to rent a car and see some friends to help make the time go by more quickly. The one friend that I was seeing works close to where we lived before we moved to Sweden so I decided to take a wander down our old street just to experience a taste of our former life. Our neighbors still live in

My Love Affair with Baseball

2012-01-25T14:27:00.000+01:00

On the plane ride over, I got to watch Moneyball, the highly acclaimed film about how the General Manager of the Oakland A's changed the way in which teams recruited a roster in order to win. I loved it. For starters, the A's are in the same division as my favorite team, the Los Angeles Angels, (a name I abhor by the way...to me, they will always be the California Angels, the name with which

A Winter Beauty

2012-01-07T21:36:00.000+01:00

I am still among the few who are quite all right with the lack of snow and ice that this winter has produced. We got a decent dusting earlier this week and the flakes were huge and fluffy. Admittedly, it was lovely, but I hate the slippery sidewalks so I really could not care less if more snow ever came. But even without the snow, today was a "real winter" day with a bright shining sun, an ice

Forgiven and Forgiving: The Right Way to Start the New Year

2012-01-01T16:26:00.001+01:00

I have learned a few things from the 13 years that I have lived outside of my home country, including a special tradition that most British people treasure: The Queen's Christmas day speech! Every year I say to Mark Tatlow, “Are you going to listen to the Queen's speech?” and every year he replies, “Well, of course”, as if to say, why in the world would you ask me that...is it

Gott Slut: 2011 (A Good End to 2011)

2011-12-31T17:05:00.000+01:00

Dickens had it right about 2011 when in A Tale of Two Cities he wrote, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Doug and I continued to have some memorable and wonderful experiences together but the pain of death and grief definitely took their toll. Here is a quick review of our year: January: Doug took me to New York City for the first time in my life in celebration of being 50

Day 29: A Sermon for Christmas Day

2011-12-25T23:11:00.001+01:00

The power of a promise is a profound thing. To be able to count on something that is important to you without the anxiety of wondering if it'll be there or not is a wonderful gift. Sadly, promises cannot always be kept. A close friend of mine had her marriage fall apart after several years of unhappiness and unsuccessful attempts at reconciliation. Her daughter was pretty shattered by

Day 28: A Prayer for Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T22:56:00.000+01:00

Loving and Gracious God, Today we have gathered to celebrate Christ’s birth and it is with joy and thanksgiving that we have moved through the wondrous events that have led us here. We come before you at this holy time, grateful for the arrival of Jesus Christ. Out of the busyness of our worlds and out of the darkness of our lives, we have seen a great light. We feel humbled and awed that

Day 27: Excitement

2011-12-23T22:25:00.002+01:00

Our journey is almost over! It is the evening before Christmas Eve! When I finished my sermon for Sunday I felt excitement. Yes, I was excited that the writing task for the week was behind me, but even more than that, I was excited that what I had written and what I will say on Sunday is really good news! In listening to some wonderful music today, Michael Card's The Promise and City on a

Day 26: The Darkness Does Not Overcome

2011-12-22T22:52:00.000+01:00

It seems inevitable that my blog would turn to Isaiah 9, verse 2: The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. Today was the shortest day of the year and from henceforth we begin to gain light. It makes my heart sing a little to know that we are now on the upward ascent to daylight. Of course, for about 6 weeks

Day 25: Abiding Faithfulness

2011-12-21T21:34:00.001+01:00

My parents are celebrating their 54th wedding anniversary today! Amazing, abiding love and faithfulness is displayed through their relationship. And what is even more amazing is that they aren't ready for their journey to be over. They still want more time together, even after 54 years! What a gift! I am reminded that at Christmas we celebrate God's abiding presence among us. Jesus Christ

Day 24: On Being Clergy at Christmas

2011-12-20T22:16:00.000+01:00

Sometimes it's not the easiest thing to be a pastor at Christmas. It's busy. It's a time of high expectations. People sometimes go to church at Christmas but no other time of the year so you can feel pressure to make sure you have something really meaningful to say that might possibly spark their interest to stop back before another 365 days go by. And I've always kind of wondered how the "

Day 23: Our Focus Turns to the Child

2011-12-19T21:47:00.001+01:00

We are in the week of Christmas! THIS Saturday is Christmas Eve. THIS Sunday is Christmas. Time to pull our focus towards the main event, the coming Christ child. What genius it was on the part of God to send his son into the world as a child. Children have a way of seeing the world and giving expression to their thoughts quite unlike adults. Children are disarming, curious, and adorable

Day 22: The Fourth Sunday of Advent

2011-12-18T22:04:00.000+01:00

Today hope, peace, joy and love joined us in our worship service. All four candles shining brightly, heralding the coming Christ child. I love seeing all the candles lit. I love the progression that we've been following, the first candle of advent now a small stub, but still bringing forth light, heartened by the other candles that shine brightly. Now only the Christ candle remains unlit and

Day 21: O Christmas Tree

2011-12-17T16:09:00.000+01:00

Oh, the Christmas tree. A mixed tradition for me. I love a beautiful tree but I am not the greatest at making a tree look fabulous. We have a fake tree because neither one of us want to work at keeping a real one alive plus Tanner likes to chew on the branches of a real tree so our artificial one will do. And, the tree sometimes reminds me of my childless state. The tree is something the

Day 20: White Elephants and Other Assorted Joy

2011-12-16T16:35:00.001+01:00

Last night I hosted our annual book club white elephant gift exchange. Initiated years ago when we decided that we wanted to meet in December but not have the pressure of reading a book, it has become a fan favorite. I have taken to making an attempt at writing a parody of the past year to the tune of a popular Christmas song and well, it's entertaining for me if no one else! I don our famous

Day 19: Converting

2011-12-15T16:17:00.000+01:00

I have been baking a bit lately and many of the recipes I have from the US call for things like "a stick of butter" or a small package of cream cheese. I find all of this frustrating when I no longer live in a country with standard insider measurements! I have to figure out how much the American measure is referring to and then convert it to metric measurements. I'm good with temperature (

Day 18: Cozy Traditions

2011-12-14T16:55:00.003+01:00

Today we had our staff Christmas breakfast. We all gather for a morning devotion followed by Julgröt...a rice porridge type of dish that I love. Part of why I love it is because I don't make at home so when someone else makes it and serves it to me, it's a real treat. The table is also filled with breads, cheese and ham. The whole thing is finished off with pepparkakor and coffee, of course!

Day 17: Chasing Away the Darkness with Candles of Joy

2011-12-13T21:10:00.001+01:00

December 13th, Lucia Day. The oldest girl in the house, adorns her head with candles and goes room to room in the dark house, chasing the early morning shadows away and illuminating a new day for her loved ones. She carries with her coffee and Lussekattar, saffron laced buns that many love and others hate. It's a beautiful and charming tradition as we near the darkest time of the year...

Day 16: Just for Today

2011-12-12T17:59:00.001+01:00

We're more than half way through our Advent journey. How are you doing? Some of the poinsettias in my home are drooping a bit and maybe I am too. Fatigue is setting in. The excitement and wonder of the season is wearing off just a bit. The dazzling light isn't quite as dazzling today. One more Sunday in Advent, then Christmas Eve and Christmas Day worship celebrations this year with the

Day 15: A Prayer for the 3rd of Advent

2011-12-11T20:11:00.001+01:00

Our loving and gracious God, We can think of no greater gift than the love that you show us through the birth of your son Jesus Christ and this brings us incredible joy. We are thankful that our advent journey is bringing us closer and closer to the day when we will celebrate anew the birth of Christ and we continue to wait with eager anticipation the joy that this occasion will bring

Day 14: Sushi and Sundaes

2011-12-10T08:50:00.001+01:00

Last night we hosted the Christmas party for our 12-14 year old youth group. We have not spent much time with this group so we were happy for the chance to connect more personally with them. We were unsure how many would come but in the end, we had a very good group. When the kids first arrived, they were a bit quiet, keeping to themselves, politely taking one potato chip at a time, not

Day 13: Content with What We Have

2011-12-09T15:21:00.001+01:00

Recently I noticed on Facebook that a group of folks from the US were bumming out that Ikea was discontinuing the selling of Swedish food in their US stores. I seriously laughed out loud. I could not imagine for a minute what anyone in America could possibly miss from the Ikea food shop! (Incidentally, Ikeas in Sweden don't sell those grocery items, grocery stores in Sweden do!) I was thinking

Day 12: Trying to...Fear Not

2011-12-08T08:25:00.001+01:00

The most oft repeated command in scripture is Fear Not. Many an angel have uttered those words to frightened people. The reason it was so often repeated is because people were scared. And yet I do love the sentiment that God enters our fears with us and tells us to be not afraid because His is with us in all things. These funky little angels that adorn my house each Christmas seemed

Day 11: All Dressed Up...

2011-12-07T21:11:00.001+01:00

Stockholm has pulled out all the stops this year and put a big effort into decorating the city with some new and different things. Their hope was to become more of a "Christmas Destination" city, dazzling people with its natural beauty along with some lovely Christmas decor. The Swedish Christmas markets have always had a certain charm, and the city has always been lovely this time of year, but

Day 10: Taking Time to be Kind

2011-12-06T16:39:00.001+01:00

This morning when I finished my tennis match, I returned to my car to see that I had a flat tire. UGH. No AAA here in Sweden. What to do? I coud see that there was a spare tire in the trunk, but I couldn't find the jack and truth be told...I wasn't really sure what to do. So I humbled myself, walked back into the tennis club and asked Andreas, the club manager if he would be willing to help

Day 9: Sinterklaas

2011-12-05T20:32:00.001+01:00

Today my Dutch friends are celebrating Sinterklass on the eve of St. Nicholas day! This is a special day because traditionally, this is the day that kids get their Christmas presents, not Christmas eve or Christmas day! The name Santa Claus has its roots in this Dutch tradition but Sinterklaas is not be mistaken for Santa Claus. St. Nicholas himself was a bishop from Myra, in Turkey who was

Day 8: The Second Sunday in Advent

2011-12-04T15:46:00.001+01:00

Here is my sermon from this week. The texts were Isaiah 26:1-4, Luke 1:11-22 and Luke 2:25-32. The Promise of Peace One of the first commandments that we tried to teach our dog Tanner was Come! We wanted to be able to be with him in the open countryside and allow him to run freely off the leash. But in order for this to happen in an effective manner, he needed to learn to

Day 7: Snow Does Not Make Christmas, Christmas

2011-12-03T16:26:00.001+01:00

People have been complaining like crazy that there hasn't been any snow in Stockholm yet. Nary even a flake, which truth be told, is pretty unusual for this late in the season. However, one resident of this fair city is not among the complainers for I am quite ambivalent about the cold, white stuff that falls from the sky. Don't get me wrong...I do love the beauty of freshly fallen snow. I

Day 6: Jaw Dropper

2011-12-02T06:49:00.001+01:00

Southern California has had some serious wind lately and since I have family and friends who live there I jumped on the Los Angeles Times website to see if I could get come information. Of course, many photos have been posted and as I flipped through them this morning, I literally felt my jaw drop open as I looked at the incredible damage done by these storms. It jarred me and I found myself

Day 5: Count Down

2011-12-01T07:11:00.001+01:00

Children (well, and adults too if truth be told) all over the world will begin the treasured tradition of opening advent calendars, one for each day, until Christmas arrives. Chocolates or toys or other treasures lurk behind the windows and it takes a certain amount of discipline to limit oneself to just the one window designated for today. Here in Sweden many people burn an advent candle, a

Day 4: Broken Bulbs

2011-11-30T06:54:00.001+01:00

I love the ljusstakar that adorn most windows throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons here in Stockholm. They give the short days a real boost of light and energy and the added bonus is how our neighborhood is beautified by the window lights. I love walking around the city, noticing the different styles, marveling at how most people participate in this form of decoration. We join the

Advent Day 3: De-Clutter

2011-11-29T07:19:00.001+01:00

I had decided that yesterday would be the day when I would get most of the house decorating done for Christmas. I have a lot of decorations and it require a bit of effort to bring the numerous boxes up from our basement storage, unpack them, and figure out where I want to put things. But the very first thing I have to do is take down and put away the stuff that adorns our house for the rest in

Day 2: Preparing the House...and the Heart

2011-11-28T08:36:00.003+01:00

We host several events in our home throughout the Advent and Christmas season and thus I love to decorate our house at Christmas time. It is fun to see how people delight in walking into our little winter wonderland here at Tegnérgatan 4. We have a broad collection of decorations as I have things that date back to my childhood along with a beautiful collection of carolers that we began

First of Advent 2011

2011-11-27T19:18:00.001+01:00

We have arrived once again at the start of a new church year and the much anticipated season of Advent. I am going to try and blog daily in the days leading up to Christmas. It feels like a worthy goal and a great way for me to focus on what's happening throughout these days. In our staff devotions last Wednesday, the Swedish choir director pointed out an interesting play on words that had

Thanksgiving Adventures

2011-11-23T21:46:00.001+01:00

I have learned through the years to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day even though it's not a holiday here in Sweden. It is easily the one day of the year when I miss being in the US more than any other. I think it's because the entire nation aligns itself around one theme...giving thanks. And unlike other holidays that are celebrated here in Sweden, like Christmas and Easter,

Time Marches On

2011-11-18T07:16:00.001+01:00

Yesterday marked a year since Doug broke his leg on the street . It was an icy November afternoon, bone chillingly cold and a difficult, long day. Yesterday was sunny and beautiful here, not too cold yet, and no signs of ice or snow. We haven't even had much rain. Doug started to repaint our bedroom, handling being on a ladder with ease. I am very happy that I am not going to have to walk

Anthropomorphic Collective Nouns

2011-11-15T17:18:00.001+01:00

I totally stole this off an email someone sent me but I found it so hilarious that I had to share it on my blog. Most of us are familiar with certain ways in which we name animal groups even if we never did know that in doing so we were using anthropomorphic collective nouns. So for instance a herd of cows, a school of fish, a flock of chickens, and a gaggle of geese are all collective nouns

Coping With Dark November

2011-11-14T14:55:00.001+01:00

While we've enjoyed the most mild November temperatures in over 100 years here in Stockholm, there is no change in the reality of short days for this time of year. And while I am happy that I can still be out without a hat, gloves and boots and often still get by with wearing my down vest as a jacket, I must admit that the shortness of the day has startled me at times. Last week I was in an

Early Thanksgiving

2011-11-09T19:10:00.000+01:00

Today I enjoyed an early Thanksgiving lunch thanks to the American Women's Club in Stockholm and the Sheraton Hotel. What a lovely way to spend a gray November day! It's pretty fun to walk away from work, head downtown and indulge in this uniquely American treat of turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and of course pie! (I know our Canadian neighbors celebrate Thanksgiving in October...is the

Fitness Humor

2011-11-07T18:28:00.003+01:00

For ages I've been trying to get back into a decent work-out routine. Finally, a new gym opened up one block from our house! They were running new membership specials so we decided to jump on it realizing that if we can't get to a gym that is across the street from our house, well, it seems unlikely that we'll ever start working out again! And today we took the plunge and made our way to our

Lauterbrunnen to Mürren

2011-10-31T21:18:00.001+01:00

We had thought that our last full day in the Alps was going to be rainy and cloudy with a chance of lightening so we were pleasantly surprised when the day broke even more beautiful than the last! It was lovely that I felt compelled to drink my coffee on the balcony even though it was a bit on the chilly side! But what a view for enjoying your morning coffee! We knew that the cable car up to

Wengen to Lauterbrunnen

2011-10-26T07:57:00.000+02:00

We wanted to take a leisurely hike, nothing too difficult but enough to see the surrounding area a bit better. Our friend Richard suggested we take the down hill hike into Lauterbrunnen, the little village that sits below Wengen and then take the train back up. Sounded good to us. The pathway was steep the entire way down and while down doesn't require the cardio fitness of up, it is hard on

Wengen

2011-10-26T07:38:00.000+02:00

Wengen is a carless village set in the heart of the Alps. It is a haven for skiers and I would love to return to this place when the winter season is in full tilt. I loved this street sign warning skiers and sledders that they could not go here! As we wandered through the picturesque village, we noticed that many shops had closed on the day before and were not opening again until the winter

The Top of Europe

2011-10-25T17:17:00.000+02:00

As we were making our way to the Alps on the sunniest of days, our friends advised us to jump on the first train out of Wengen if we wanted to get up to the Jungfrujoch, considered to be the top of Europe! Sunny days are not guaranteed in the Alps and there is no reason to head up to the top if it is not clear. This was one of my dream trips so we decided to go for it! I am so glad we did as

Trip to Gandria

2011-10-25T10:35:00.000+02:00

The second day we walked into town and after stopping to ride the Rhino, we took a boat ride across Lake Lugano to the charming town of Gandria. The boat ride was chilly but gorgeous as we took in the majesty of the surrounding mountains. Perhaps next time we come to this area, we'll stay at this charming hotel with the stay awhile balconies! We stopped for lunch at a darling place with a

Swiss Holiday

2011-10-25T10:00:00.001+02:00

We have some dear friends who live in Lugano, Switzerland and when they offered us the opportunity to come and see them in October, we jumped. Lugano is in the Italian part of Switzerland and reminds me of my native California in climate and foliage. The combination of a lake, mountains and fall foliage was stunning! Towering Cypress, majestic Eucalyptus and flowers of all varieties dotted our

An Early Halloween

2011-10-15T11:50:00.004+02:00

With the gorgeous harvest moon glimmering over the world right now, perhaps it seems appropriate that we went to an early Halloween Party Friday night. Swedes have imported Halloween from the US, unfortunately at times, much of what is icky about the holiday, but they love an excuse to dress up in costumes just like the rest of us. Trick or Treating is strictly taboo however as it is culturally

Autumn's Arrival

2011-10-03T23:24:00.000+02:00

After a gloriously long 'brittsommar' Stockholm's version of Indian Summer, I think perhaps we are settling into the autumn season. The weekend was warm and sunny and I took full advantage of the opportunity to enjoy it. Because of work and other social commitments we didn't have enough time to go on the boat. I missed being out on the water but I have to admit it was pretty fun exploring the

Autumn in the Stockholm Archipelago

2011-09-26T20:47:00.000+02:00

It was sunny and reasonably warm this morning so we decided to go on a boat ride with our dog Tanner and our friend Chris. I optimistically wore shorts and tennis shoes with no socks. It started off to be a fine decision. It was sunny, with some clouds and quite a lovely day. We wanted to get into the heart of the archipelago since we know our days are numbered out there for this season so we

Up on the Roofs

2011-09-19T10:26:00.000+02:00

Stockholm makes available an opportunity to explore the Gamla Stan area via the rooftops! Doug gave me this as a gift two Christmases ago and we finally used it last night. Located on the island of Riddarholm, it was a nice experience. We began in the square where the large Riddarholm Church is located, the church where the Royals are buried in a square called Birger Jarl Torget. Birger Jarl

Britt Sommar

2011-09-19T09:27:00.000+02:00

The chill arrived a bit early for me in mid-August but alas, Mr. Warm Sunshine showed up for a couple of more weekends in September. Saturday, September 10 was the only Saturday in September that we were free from church obligations so we were thrilled when a sunny forecast came our way. We called some friends, planned a picnic, grabbed the dog and headed out for the Finnmaster. In my heart, I

Secrets of Stockholm

2011-09-13T06:59:00.000+02:00

The American Women's Club in Stockholm is celebrating their 100 years of existence this year. As a result, those of us who are members are getting to do some very nice things. So on a gorgeous early autumn evening, we headed to a wonderful event at Tessin Palace. The mansion was constructed between 1694 and 1700 by Nicodemus Tessin the younger. Eventually the property became the Crowns and

A Prayer for 9/11: 10 years later

2011-09-11T16:38:00.000+02:00

This is what I shared in our worship service this morning.