2013 Begins

It's always a little strange to pass from one year to another.  In many ways, it's just an ordinary 24 hours and then in others, matters of significance and worthy of reflection often bubble to the top when we turn to a new calendar year.  At any rate, New Year's Eve offers us an opportunity to enjoy the company of good friends while celebrating the hope and expectation of a new year.
We were quite uncertain about what to do on New Year's Eve as Tanner is a real basket case when it comes to the fireworks.  So when our friends who live south of Stockholm near the water in beautiful Saltsjöbaden invited us to come and join them for the night, we were happy to take them up on it.  It was a rather warm New Year's but very icy and slippery.  We arrived safely and were happy that we didn't have to go anywhere until the next day!  A lovely outdoor fire was burning to welcome us.
Judy was busy preparing dinner for us all while Olle poured drinks.  The table was gorgeous and the company even better.  We enjoyed wonderful conversation and a lovely dinner.  Dessert was a combination of a very healthy and tasty fruit platter alongside of very unhealthy but decadent and delicious mint brownies!  At 9.00, one of our guests, who is Russian, left the table to call his parents in Moscow.  He taught us how to say Happy New Year in Russian and we spent the next several hours perfecting our pronunciation.  By the way, you say С Новым годом.  So yeah, thinking that we perfected our pronunciation is kind of funny, actually.  With Russia firmly planted in the new year, we turned our attention to Stockholm where we were aware of the clock moving towards midnight as the bangs and booms from the fireworks increased as did Tanner's barking!  It was still 100% better than being in the city but he would not step outside for any reason at all!  At midnight we toasted and kissed and wished one another a bright new year.  Some fireworks were slightly visible from the porch but it was also just kind of fun standing outside in the relatively comfortable night air, listening to the sounds of the new year.  We retired around 2.00 a.m. after sharing in a lovely evening of celebration together.

We awoke to a beautiful morning and after coffee and breakfast took the dogs for a lovely walk through the snowy woods.  The melt is on as temperatures have been above freezing for a few days now.  Water was flowing, the ground was soft, the snow mushy.  Still, it was gorgeous and not very cold.  Tanner even found the water appealing on January 1, taking a plunge into the chilly Baltic.  What a crazy labrador that animal is but I must admit, had their been a sauna nearby, I might've been tempted to share in his polar dip.
We are grateful for our friends whose home is a welcome haven of comfort and rest for us.  We always say that their place is like our summer home and obviously, our winter home as well!  So nice to share these moments with good friends.

We eventually made our way home, tidied up around the house a bit, watched some American football and enjoyed the Rose Parade from Pasadena live through our computer.  It is almost the end of the first day of the new year.  It feels good to have enjoyed the holidays and celebrated well over these past few weeks.  It is, of course, with some sadness that normal life beckons us to return to work, routines, and doing a bit more in a day than eating, sleeping, taking walks and watching TV.  All said however, I am thankful for a job that I love and a life that is full.  Happy New Year friends. Let's hope and pray for good things to greet us in the year ahead but also that God's peace and comfort will join us when sorrow prevails.

Year in Review 2012

The last day of 2012 has kind of snuck up on me.  I was thinking that Tuesday was New Year's Eve but alas, Tuesday is New Year's Day!  It's good to take a moment and think back on the events of the year.  It's been a good year in many ways and I feel quite thankful for the graces and blessings that have been ours to enjoy.  We continue to journey beside family members with significant health issues but are grateful for each new day we're given with them and remain hopeful that full healing remains on the horizon.  The fight is not easy but the time we continue to enjoy with each loved one is a treasure.
January began with good friends on a freezing cold night overlooking the city enjoying the fireworks.  We had quite a mild winter last year but the views of our lovely city remained a joy to take in.
Of course, January is easier to swallow when February in California awaits you!  The desert sun was extra memorizing this year as we ended up buying a house at Mission Lakes in Desert Hot Springs, 15 miles away from my parents, on a golf course (Doug's dream), with tennis, swimming, hiking and a fitness center all nearby.  It was crazy and we have no idea how much we'll be able to actually be there but a series of uncanny events unfolded and we felt it was too good of an opportunity pass up.
March brought us back to Sweden where winter was still firmly planted.  We jumped back into church life and prepared for a wonderful Easter celebration.
In April we spent a rainy but joyful week in London at the International Pastors Conference.  This group of colleagues and friends have become extremely important to us in our ministry and we thank God for this rich time of fellowship and learning each year.  I climbed to the top of St. Paul's, we took in two shows, and had a blast just being in London surrounded by English speakers!
In May we took to the high seas, embarking on a Baltic Cruise with the St. Peter's Cruise line.  Stockholm-Tallin, Estonia-St. Petersburg, Russia-Helsinki, Finland-Stockholm.  4 nights, 4 cities.  It was great fun and included all the quirkiness of being on board a Russian cruise ship.  Highlights included sailing on the waters late at night, with the sun just rolling along the horizon as the white nights of the spring and summer were beginning to take shape.
In June we returned to the US to marry a young couple who had met in our church.  She an American, he from Malawi, this was one joyous celebration.  We took a couple of weeks in CA to work on the house as well.
July found us back in Sweden, working on our children's summer program at church and getting out on the boat into the archipelago as much as possible.  The summer was chilly so we didn't swim much and had jackets on most of the time, but still...those long summer days are hard to beat.
Since we had been away during the Swedish midsommar, we went to the summer place of our friends we are usually with and shared in a crayfish party with them!  It was lovely to spend a couple of quiet days away from the city, enjoying the beauty and charm of little Mellösa.
September turned out to be a gorgeous month after a fairly chilly summer so we continued to enjoy being out on the water.  We spent a lovely evening at the island home of our good friends and took in the fantastic views that their place provides.
October took me back to both California and London.  California to see my folks and enjoy our home, London to speak at a women's conference.  I wrote my talks for the conference in our cozy little cove off the master bedroom in our little house.Both were fantastic experiences and I cannot wait for Douglas to enjoy our home in the same way that I was able to then!
In November we celebrated a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with friends from around the world.  We were also very thankful that the US presidential election went the way that it did and we hope and pray that the US can make some progress in the areas where they have been stalled for far too long.
December came and went once again with the fantastic seasons of Advent and Christmas.  Our church services were filled with joy and hope.  We continue to feel so blessed by our church family and of course, very thankful that we get to share our lives with one another. Our dog Tanner continues to bring us joy while providing endless amusing entertainment.
2012 was a very good year in many years.  We have been stretched and challenged in various ways. We have been visited by sorrow and joy.  We have hosted many friends in our home and enjoyed those visits immensely.  We have hope for the future and anticipate the new year with a sense of humble gratitude.  We are grateful that throughout our adventures and our journeys, we feel the love of Christ surrounding us, beckoning us, pushing us along life's fragile and wonderful pathway.

Happy New Year dear Readers! I pray you have a safe New Year's Eve and that the year ahead will be filled with the grace of God in your lives, however the year unfolds.  

Window Dressing

The big department store in downtown Stockholm, NK, decorates their windows every Christmas with a fine tale of the season.  
I love this.  One of my favorite things to do when I lived in Chicago was to venture down to State Street to look at the beautiful windows in the then Marshall Field's department store.  In this respect, the child in me really comes out!
One evening, we were strolling through the city and stopped by for a look.  It was kind of late so the streets were almost empty, thus allowing us to get a good look at the windows, read the commentary and get some good photos!

Yes, that's Pippi Longstockings busy making Pepparkakor!

This year, the windows were a tribute to famous Swedish fairy tales and books.  The details were marvelous and I'm sure my eyes sparkled as I took in the beauty with childlike wonder.

Loved watching the skiers turn the corner!

I may have to walk downtown one more time to have one last look before the windows return to their high fashion state.

Food, Feasting, and Family

One of the sad realities of living overseas is that you miss out on most family gatherings.  The added reality that we are pastors of a church means that we have never spent Christmas with our blood families but rather have been with our church family.  And while we miss family at Christmas we have come to treasure the other "families" that we have forged our way into!  And we do delight in our church family and love to be with them and enjoy the wonderful Christmas days with them.  Over the years we have developed some traditions that have become dear to us.
The first is with our Swiss-American family.  This family has a mom who is Swiss, a dad who is American and three delightful grown up children who we love to be with.  Laughter, joy, meaningful conversation and games are always a part of our gatherings.  They also love Tanner so he often gets to come along!  We have made it a tradition to spend Christmas Eve with them and this year did not disappoint.  They live a bit outside of Stockholm and are surrounded by beauty.  With the incessant snowfall that Stockholm has enjoyed this year, we stepped right into a winter wonderland as we arrived.  There is a huge field in front of their house and Tanner loves to run and frolic in the wide open space.  Their home is a lovely haven of beauty and comfort.  We enjoyed wonderful appetizers of sausage and cheeses, a beautiful ham dinner and I contributed a decadent cheesecake with berries on top for desert.  Cookies, candy, chocolates and other delights surrounded us throughout the evening.  We played A Christmas Carol duel, drawing a word from a hat and in teams, needing to think of a Christmas song with that word and then singing the verse containing the word!  We won't win any Grammy awards but it was great fun laughing our way through the songs of the season.  We spent some time sharing our joys and challenges for the year ahead and all in all, it was a delightful Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day is devoted to our church family.  We began a tradition of having an Open House on Christmas day evening as this is when one can begin to feel a bit lonely.  The day after Christmas, Boxing Day or the Second Day of Christmas as it is known in Sweden, is also a holiday so people don't mind being out in the evening on Christmas.  By doing an Open House, we can also ensure that anyone from church has a place to go on Christmas to get a good meal and enjoy some warm fellowship.  A blizzard began on the Christmas morning and continued throughout the day thus cutting into our party total.  We usually have between 80-100 people and this year is was a modest 50 folks.  We enjoyed the company however and people talked and ate and enjoyed one another's company well into the evening.  I brew up a hot apple cider that is our signature beverage and people love it, most having never tasted it before!  I bake a zillion chocolate chip cookies and make homemade toffee in addition to the variety of dips and appetizers that adorn the table.  Doug fixes up the house, and I'm in charge of the food and we love having this tradition as the centerpiece of Christmas Day.
Last but certainly not least is our Swedish-Ghanian family.  We are also invited to Hannah's turkey feast each year.   Hannah is famous for making what is likely the most delicious turkey in the world and we look forward to the mouth-watering feast that awaits us each year.  Doug has become chief carver at the event and does an awesome job of ensuring that everyone gets a nice slice of the delicious bird.  The food goes fast at this delightful family gathering.  So while we long for family to join us in our traditions here in Sweden, we are not alone in our journey through the Christmas days.  We are grateful for the other "families" that have become an essential part of our life here in Sweden.  

Christmas Eve 2012

It is the third day of Christmas and since the second day of Christmas is also a holiday here in Sweden, we've had some time to relax and pause after the hectic days of celebrating Christmas.  It was a wonderful few days for us however and I feel really satisfied and content with my journey through advent this year.  I am also happy for the quiet days that follow the high season as we look forward now to another year unfolding before us.
Doug preached on the 4th of Advent in a service that was full of joy and great music.  The sanctuary was packed full to the brim as people from all over the world gathered to celebrate the coming Christ child.  Sunday night was filled with baking cookies and making candy and a cheesecake in preparation for the celebrations that were to follow on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  There was also my Christmas Eve sermon that needed some last minute touching up so it was a full day.  Christmas Eve morning was filled with final sermon preparations and present wrapping.  Then we were off to church!
Held in the large sanctuary upstairs, the service was just lovely.  Candles surrounded us on all sides in addition to the altar candles and the advent candles and the Christ candle.  It was finally time to have 4 Advent candles lit alongside of the Christ candle.  A series of lessons and carols mark the evening and this year we enjoyed a special treat from a professional Chinese opera singer who is part of our church.  He sang two songs, including O Holy Night and it was simply divine.  My other favorite duo, Chris and Doug, sang Shepherd's Watch from Michael Card's The Promise.  They are, hands down, my favorite duo ever and I just love it when they sing together.  I posted my sermon in an earlier post.  If you'd like to read it, click here.  My theme was focused on the notion that there is really nothing humankind can do to keep God out of Christmas.  It's an important promise when the world looks darker and darker.
The service ends with Doug and I lighting our candles from the Christ candle and then passing that lit flame to all in the congregation who have obtained a candle for themselves.  We shared the words, Christ is the Light of the World, no go and be the same.  We sing carols reflecting the light of Christ, ending with Silent Night as the sanctuary is illuminated with candlelight and filled with the beauty of God's people singing his praise.
Christmas Eve is a special time.  I treasure our worship service and the time spent in the company of others.  It is a gift and privilege to serve our church in this way.