Thursday, December 28, 2017

Thank You





How do I say thank You, Lord
For the life that You gave
The cross that You bore

For the love You poured out
To ransom my soul
My heart pours out
This thankful song

You walk through all my walls
Conquered my shame
Stepped into my past
Fill my world with grace
You didn't have to come
But You wanted to

I say Thank You



Our Christmas in pictures




Two days before Christmas I finally finished wrapping the last Christmas presents. Wrapping presents always seem to take five times longer than I imagine it will take.




This year we were blessed with a beautiful white Christmas in Toronto. Our whole neighborhood transformed into a winter wonderland a couple of days before Christmas and on Christmas Eve we got another snow storm. Yey, I love snow! :)




Christmas at our house is a mix of three different cultures. We mix together Jamaican, Finnish and Canadian Christmas traditions. I'm the Finnish-Swedish person in the house so my contribution is ginger bread cookies. Home baked? Absolutely not! Ikea's gingerbread cookies taste great, which means I don't need to bake my own. :)




One of our family traditions is to have Jamaican Black Cake for dessert on Christmas Eve every year. It's super tasty!




We open all our Christmas gifts after dinner on Christmas Eve according to Finnish tradition. On Christmas Day morning we open whatever Santa got for us in our stockings.




Christmas Day afternoon is my favorite time of the season when you can enjoy your gifts and eat endless amounts of chocolate while you hang out with the family in your pyjamas.




On the second day of Christmas we went and got some hot chocolate and took a walk around the neighborhood.




It's always so much fun to look at all the different Christmas decorations in the neighborhood. Here we have Rudolf with his red nose at the front.


What I Eat in a Day




Yesterday the lady on the radio said: "When was the last time you had some fruit? Fruit cake or wine doesn't count!" She has a point, healthy eating isn't a high priority for most people during the holidays. I prioritize spending a lot of time with family and enjoying good food during the holiday season. There's lots of time to have oatmeal for breakfast in January and February.


What I eat in a day (during Christmas)

Breakfast: Three clementines, a big piece of Jamaican Black Cake with M&M's on top.
"Lunch": Chocolate, and more chocolate.
Snack: One plant-based protein bar.
Dinner: A cherry soda, a burger from Hero Burgers.
Snack: Jamaican sorrel, a glass of eggnog.

This was yesterday's diet, it included enough sugar and carbs that's for sure. My body will be happy to go back to green juices in just a few more days, but my mind is happily enjoying all the chocolate! Chocolate is an awesome invention.


Wednesday, December 27, 2017

God With Us





Have you ever been in a situation where you needed God? Maybe you found yourself in some kind of trouble, or felt lonely, or just had one of those days where the only thing you could say was, “God help me.”


This Christmas, Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. from Vous Church in Miami, Florida reminds us of the greatest news of the Christmas story - God is with us. There’s not a moment that passes where God is not present with each and every one of us, even when we don’t notice Him. The story of Jesus’ birth in Matthew chapter 1 assure us that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. By believing that Jesus is God and recognizing His presence with us, we can experience the power of the Holy Spirit this Christmas, and in every season of our lives.


Make Your Love Last





We live in an exciting time in history, we get to enjoy airplane rides that can take us all around the world, the internet, social media etc. Our modern inventions make life fun and exciting, but when it comes to love our modern society doesn't know what to do.


About 50% of all first marriages end in divorce and 67% of second marriages end in divorce. Why is it so difficult for us to make love last? One reason is that we tend to look to romantic relationships as something that should serve us, rather than as a calling to serve someone else. It's impossible to be very selfish and still have a healthy and florishing marriage. Real love isn't self-serving. When two people get married they are committing to serve each other for the rest of their lives. Anyone who has worked in the service industry knows that serving others isn't always fun or easy. It takes commitment, grit and sacrifice to be able to serve someone else.


Imagine how many kids would be in orphanages in Canada if every parent who got tired of serving his/her child decided to end the commitment to the child. Parenting is a lifelong commitment to serve another human-being, the same is true for marriage. Unfortunately we are partly raised by Hollywood movies that teach us that marriage will give us ultimate happiness in life. It won't. Marriage is a beautiful thing but just as with parenting a good marriage requires commitment, work and self-sacrifice. It's funny how the Hollywood movies never mention any of these things isn't it?


Trusting God to Meet Your Needs





Youtuber Alyssa Danae shares a story from her own life when she was worried about her future and trying to control the situation rather than trusting God. Alyssa finally broke down and realized that she needed to let go of control and trust that God would provide everything she needed, and he did just that.


Sometimes in life when we are working hard to turn our life in a certain direction but we face obstacle after after obstacle it might be a sign that God wants us to go in a different direction. No matter what the situation is God knows our future and we can be sure that he will provide everything we need for each stage in life if we love God and trust him.


Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Betting With God





Can you make a deal with God? Angie Smith wagered a relationship with God in exchange for her dad's health and had to hold up her end of the bargain.


Separated, Sent, Scared, Shocked





When we find ourselves stuck in life we tend to look to our own ability, what we’re equipped with, to find the way out. As pastor Terrance Wilson of Trinity Church reminds us, it’s not in our own ability but in God’s ability where the answer is found. Maybe it’s a matter of perspective we need to gain, instead of thinking that our circumstance is a curse, it could be an assignment we are called to overcome.


Vernon's Story

Monday, December 18, 2017

It's Almost Christmas!



On Thursday last week my husband and I went on a two-day getaway to Waterloo,ON. It was very nice to go on a relaxing getaway in the middle of the hectic Christmas season.


We stayed at Delta Hotels by Marriott in Waterloo.


I did a swim workout at the hotel and enjoyed relaxing in the hot tub in front of the fireplace after my workout was done.


We also enjoyed some healthy and very tasty meals at Proof restaurant.


On Saturday we spent the day in downtown Toronto.


I needed to get the last of my Christmas shopping done on Saturday so most of the day was spent at the Eaton centre.


The Eaton centre is so cozy at Christmas time with Christmas decorations all over the mall.



On Saturday we also took the time to stop by Louie cafe in Toronto and enjoy some very tasty Vanilla soy lattes. I'm glad I was able to buy my last Christmas gifts on Saturday because on Sunday I got a fever and ended up spending most of the day sleeping. Good timing on that visit to the mall!


Couple Receives the Gift They Prayed For





Christy was 7 months pregnant when doctors told her to prepare for a funeral instead of a healthy baby. She and her husband prayed for the miraculous.


Messiah






A baby born to save us all
Messiah
Messiah
On our knees we fall.




Tuesday, December 12, 2017

It's Officially Winter




Hej Mamma, Paul & I went shopping and decided to buy you a "small" Christmas ornament. "Go big or go home", they say. In North America we have BIG Christmas ornaments.




We also bought you six of these big red & white balls that are meant for outdoor use. You can hang them in the apple tree or somewhere else in the yard. Now all you need to do is come visit us in Canada so that you can bring your Christmas ornaments home. :)




Today we had our first snow storm in Toronto and during the weekend I got my first cold. It's officially winter! I guess the upside of having a cold is that I keep all the tea companies in business. I drink 3 cups of Echinacea tea per day to fight off the cold. Well, pretty much all I drink is tea since I can't have coffee at the moment. It's torture for a coffee-lover like me but milk and a cold is a bad combination, and I refuse to drink my coffee black! I'm grateful that I got a cold now, because last year I was sick all throughout Christmas. I believe that this cold will be long gone once Christmas comes.



Our home has been transformed into a gingerbread factory.


During the weekend we celebrated Second Advent. I can't believe that it's less than two full weeks left until Christmas!



Is it just me or does time start to go a lot faster after you turn 30?? I feel like it wasn't long ago that we took a drive to Cobourg Beach and now we have 12 cm of snow in our yard! Time sure doesn't stand still, we better make the most of each moment!


When God shows off in your life




God is funny, you realize that when you get to know him. So many times in my life I've decided to pray a small prayer and God shows up and gives me everything I asked for and ten times more. Other times I don't even pray, I just think about something and God answers my little wish just to show me that he cares. He is so good.

A couple of days ago I was thinking to myself:"I wonder when we'll get some snow in Toronto because so far we've only had the first snow." Yesterday evening I decided to do some Christmas shopping and just as I was leaving the house it started snowing. I was so happy because Christmas shopping becomes more fun when it looks like winter outside. It kept snowing all night.

This morning I was super excited about our first snow storm in Toronto and took a lot of pictures of the snow. I thought to myself: "The only problem is that the pictures don't really show how beautiful this day is because it's cloudy." Two hours later the snow storm suddenly ended and the sun started shining brighter and brighter. I said to God: "Wow God, you are really showing off today aren't you?" He is funny.

"Who cares?" you might think, it's just snow! Now this example is just a funny little one about my own excitement about snow, but I have noticed that the more you stop to notice what God is doing in your life, every little thing, the more you will get to see him move big mountains in your life. We were built for awe and wonder but we can easily miss what God is doing in our lives when we get too busy or too focused on what's next. I find that the more I stop and notice beautiful little things that God is doing in my everyday life, the more he starts to move big things. And when he starts to move big things in your life you get really excited, and you wonder why you ever chose to live without him during the earlier part of your life.




I wish I had gotten to know God when I was even younger than 23, but the best thing about living my life without God for 23 years is that I know the difference. People who grew up in church don't fully understand what it feels like to live your life without any connection to God. I lived the first two decades of my life without God. I know what it feels like to have a black hole inside your heart that nothing can satisfy. A space inside my heart that was built for God and that would continue to make me restless no matter how many goals and dreams I would accomplish. I know what it feels like to carry around an emptiness on the inside even when your life looks great on paper. Nothing but God himself can fill that black hole.  I would never ever want to go back to living my life separated from God.

The funny thing is that I had a good life before God, my childhood was perfect. I've always had loving friends and family around me and I've never experienced any abuse or trauma in my life but still nothing compares to living life with God. The human soul can conquer and overcome a lot of things when we walk through life with God, but if we find ourselves separated from God even the smaller problems in life can become big obstacles. Obstacles that keep us separated from joy, peace and fulfillment in life.

Okay I better stop now because I could keep writing this text until it's 100 pages long. Happy Tuesday everyone! Enjoy this glorious day!


Oh Holy Night







and the soul felt it's worth.




Monday, December 11, 2017

The Keys to Contentment





It isn’t always easy to be content. Thankfully, there are ten keys that can help us grow in contentment.


Nicole’s Story





Nicole was ready to end her life when God changed everything with a simple phone call. Now she is able to make a difference in others’ lives by serving on the very team that made a difference in hers. See how Nicole’s purpose isn’t limited by her location.


Making Sense of God





Skepticism is healthy if it leads us to question the received pieties of our age. But our modern culture has elevated skepticism to such an ultimate value that belief in anything seems faintly absurd. Yet human beings cannot live without meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, justice, and hope—and these things all require a faith dimension.

In an earlier book, The New York Times bestseller The Reason for God, Dr. Timothy Keller made a case for Christianity. In his new book, Dr. Keller starts further back, addressing those who strongly doubt that any version of religion or faith makes sense or has anything of value to offer the contemporary world.


Thursday, December 7, 2017

Noel





Love incarnate, love divine
Star and angels gave the sign
Bow to babe on bended knee
The Savior of humanity
Unto us a Child is born
He shall reign forevermore
Noel, Noel
Come and see what God has done.

When Christmas is Hard and Discouraging





The Holiday Season brings a lot of joy for some people and a lot of difficulties for others. If you're feeling down and discouraged about something going on in your life, this vlog is for you.


What If Your Problem is The Solution?





We all face difficulties, but what if God has a plan for your problems? See why your struggle may just be a solution.


Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Why Read the Bible?





Is our relationship with God dependent on reading the Bible? Hip-Hop artist Odd Thomas discusses the pivotal role the Bible plays in actually knowing God. Odd Thomas talks about how it was after he started reading the Bible that he finally understood how much God loves him and that his life has a purpose.


Spirit of The Living God




When you come in the room
When you do what only you can do
It changes us, it changes
What we see and what we seek
You're changing everything

When you move, you move all our fears
When you move, you move us to tears
God, when you fall, we fall on our knees
When you fall, we fall at your feet

When you speak and when you move
When you do what only you can do
It changes us, it changes
What we see and what we seek


Monday, December 4, 2017

The Weekend




A moment of stillness. One of my favorite relaxing things to do during this season is enjoy a big cup of coffee and read some new magazines in our family room.




I also enjoy looking at our pink Christmas flower, it lights up my world!




My weekend diet included a couple of bags of popcorn. White chocolate & peppermint flavored kettle corn and two episodes of Big Little Lies made my Saturday evening relaxing and enjoyable.




Saturday morning was all about fun and games at our house. Who's hiding behind the couch? Hubby has energy for some Hide and seek right away in the morning, I'm impressed!




On Saturday afternoon we needed to run some errands in downtown Toronto.




Running errands always becomes more fun when you add some toffee hot chocolate.




As we were driving past the CN Tower I thought of all the sweet memories I have from this tower. We celebrated Mom&Dad's 30th wedding anniversary in the CN Tower restaurant and my husband proposed to me in this tower. Seven years ago Toronto was a brand new city to me, today this city is filled with happy memories. God is so good to me!


When your purpose looks different than you expected





Katie Davis Majors had a clear plan for her future, she dreamed of having a few children and living in a nice house with a white picket fence in the suburbs. God's plan for Katie's life looked very different than she had expected. Katie went on a mission trip to Uganda during her last year in high school and fell in love with the warm and friendly Ugandan people. Katie eventually decided to move to Jinja, Uganda for one year to volunteer as a kindergarten teacher in an orphanage.


It's now ten years later and Katie still lives in Jinja, Uganda with her son, her adopted daughters and her husband Benji. Today she runs Amazima ministries that helps the poor in Jinja in many different ways. In the video Katie tells her story about how life turned out very differently than she had expected. She shares how surprised she was to meet a guy who wanted to date her although she was a single mom of many children. Katie also shares how she overcame the loss and grief that she has experienced during the past few years.