the bishop is here

he's here visiting the parish for a whole week. it's a little strange making such a huge deal out of it (which it really has become) - i mean he's a great guy and all, but it's just a little odd to me - this destinct and clear hierarchy. i'm more comfortable with a less formal "priesthood of all believer" kind of approach. it's interesting though - it's an opportunity for the church to kind of see where we're at and evaluate our strengths and weaknesses etc.

it's a long time since i've felt truly refreshed and rested... Seem to never get enough sleep... maybe it's just the season, maybe not... can't figure it out... i mean i just had a whole week off at Christmas, but it didn't make a difference at all... you'd think i'd feel rested after that! hmm... maybe i just need a change of scenery... to do something different... making SC sound like the promised land or something... i know it's not, but still, it'll be great to get there, it's bound to be very different from things here... i think... then again it might not be all that different when it comes to the things that really matters, not sure what those are, but that's ok... it's not like things are bad here or anything - i'm failry content, all in all - i'm just not... hmm... dunno how to explain it...

3 days of snow...

Truly amazed at how long it's lasted this time, three days is definitely a new record this season, usually it'll come and go within a day if not hours... it's nice when it's liek this cold enough for it to stay and not get all brown and slushy immediately...

"Prayer of Jabez" was pretty interesting... was afraid that the whole thing was going to be some kind of selffulfilling mantra that was to be recited every day and then good fortune would rain down constantly... wasn't like that though, came a little close at times, but i think i need to read it again before i make my mind up finally as to whether i'm going to set out do doing literally what the book says or whether to just be inspired by the main message, but nothing more... dunno if that made sense... it almost did in my head, so i hope it's not too... not sure of what word i'm looking for here... anyways...

anyways... things are good and that's ok...

it snowed today :)

but it's already melting...

"My need is His unlimited ability"

(loosely translated from the Norwegian translation of Prayer of Jabez.) interesting thought... God is truly amazing! I get pretty quickly discouraged in my ministry. it's a little lonely at times, miss being a part of a team often because i would prefer not solely responsible, but have someone else to take the blame with me when things go wrong... ;) i often can't see the good in all the challenges and in the things that don't turn out the way i thought they would/should... it worry about my own abilities. but i find comfort in the following:

• "Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor 3:5-6)

it's the same in life i think, not just if one is employed in a ministry... I constantly feel that i on a personal level aren't able to live up to my own, and what i think are God's ideals for how I should be what I should do. But it's not about that, i can't do squat. What ever i do will not live up to anyone's standard. God, on the other hand, will:

• "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20)

It's good to know it's not up to me - but Christ who lives in me, i just need to let Him take care of business and not try to work things out on my own, which unfortunately is a lot easier said than done...

æøå

Well, we've both got tickets now, L for the Feb. 21st and me on March 2nd. Pretty excited, always good when things get settled... So as long as something really strange happens we're pretty much set. now all we need to do is get our stuff packed up (blah...), worst part of any move... would be great to be super rich and just get someone to do it all for us... pipedreams i know... i'm sure it won't be as bad once we get started and all...

reading that 'prayer of jabez' book (yes, i know everyone and their dog read it 3 yrs ago) but i didn't an i saw it in my parents bookshelf, and figured that i might as well go a head and see what it's all about, seems interesting but at the same time Wilkinson (?) makes some pretty bold promises as to what you'll get out of the book and the prayer... we'll see what happens when i finish it... it's not exactly huge so i hope i'll get through it pretty soon...

well i'm hungry and need some coffee, so i'm going to head on home...

Have you ever wondered...

...what your computer does at night and why some of your programs don't seem to work in the morning? Here's why..........

http://www.rio.com.br/animation/iconstory.htm

there's a storm out side

they're recomending us to not go out side unless we really have to... this is the third storm in less than a week...

hoping to buy tickets today...

well then... staff meeting coming up

not exactly what i'd love to do most, but necessary unfortionately... just really dull and uninspiering... so sad, cause it could be SO great - a time where all of us get to gether and discuss and get motivated for our common vision (which we don't have by the way), a time we can pray for the work and one another... (which we don't) - all we do is sit around and talk about things that eithert don't matter! sorry this was a little negative - just needed to vent...

life is good

Don't you just love Mondays?

About to go home now. i'm hungry and want dinner, i'm home before L on Monday's so i make dinner, we're having tuna salad. Yummy... i like tuna.

this week is going to be way too busy. there's good busy and bad busy, this week is definitely the latter...

we've slowly started the whole move/packing/shipping thing... blah... can't say it's my favorite thing in the world... always a hassle and always a lot more work than one thinks/plans. done it so many times now it's ridiculous... oh well, it'll totally be worth it when we get to SC. looking forward to being there, but not so much the "getting" there part...

My favorite molecule...

C8H10N4O2

But which could it be? Any chemistry buffs out there?

Friday already...

the days just fly by... that's both good and bad i guess... i'm feeling really restless with this big move on the horizon. Going to be great to live in the US for a while, get to know L's fam and friends better... makes it hard to focus on our tasks here - as long as our bodies are in N, so should our minds ;) it's hard though...

i need to go to the grocery store, we're out of laundry detergent and worst of all coffee...

it's been a while...

Just haven't felt like blogging. dunno why... well i've finally got my green card, so we'll be moving some time in march. just hope i can get a hold of a job or something, food and a roof over our head is nice... God will provide...