Finland

I have so many things to say about my wonderful trip to Finland. But I'll start by writing about my time with my brother Henry and his wife Ruut. I've blogged about them many times before but once again we had such a fantastic time together. Pentti and Emmi dropped me off and were able to spend one evening with them too. But they left Finland before I did, so I got to spend extra time with H&R. For part of our time, Henry was at a golf tournament and it was just Ruut and I. We had some good conversations, we went for morning saunas, we found a cute little cafe for afternoon coffee, and we read. Ruut and I are similar in a lot of ways and can just hang out and be ourselves.

The rest of the time, Henry was around too. Being with them is always chill and fun. They love good food so it's always a great culinary experience to be with them, whether eating out or eating their cooking. Henry makes extraordinary pizza in his pizza oven and we had three pizza nights. Ruut also made some delicious salads and chicken. They like music and shopping and books and good conversation too, so I get to do all my favourite things with them.

On my birthday we drove to Helsinki and spent the day there. I've never really spent time in Helsinki so it was fun to see some of the sights and eat good food and shop. In the evening we checked out a tiny pizzeria with amazing pizza.

All in all, I spent six nights at their little cottage. I feel blessed that I was able to spend so much time with them and look forward to our next meeting....possibly in Japan....

Alaska part two

We had a great time in Alaska. The weather was great and we got an unusual amount of sunshine according to locals. We took two excursions through Holland America since neither of us had any experience with cruising. The train ride through White Pass in Skagway was breathtaking and worth every penny. The other excursion to Endicott Arm and Dawes glacier was okay but I probably would not do it again. The trip was six hours and I've seen more whales standing on the beach in Powell River than I did on that small boat. And the view from our verandah of Glacier Bay a couple days later was better than what we saw at Dawes glacier. Having said all that, we were sitting with some great people and had some good conversations and the weather was perfect. Overall it just wasn't worth the money.

On the boat, my favourite by far was the trio Vivace: a piano, cello and violin. The musicians were very talented and played many shows a day of different types of music: jazz, classical, show tunes and opera. Sometimes they performed as a duet and a few times just on their own. The concert of just the pianist in the lounge on the grand piano was spectacular. He played Chopin and Beethoven and other classics and I was in classical music heaven. I was not at all expecting professional classically trained musicians to be putting on concerts on the cruise, but it was a delightful surprise. I've blogged before about how much I love music and how it fills me up. It reminds me of what I read about moments of fullness; somewhere, in some activity, or condition, lies a fullness, a richness; that is, in that place, life is fuller, richer, deeper, more worth while, more admirable, more what it should be. I tried to attend all of their concerts whenever possible. 

The food in the market where you could go around to all the different food stations was my favourite place to eat. I loved the tacos and the Indian food and the croissants and the salads. The dining room and the fine dining did not impress me much. But there was definitely no shortage of food and I feel like I should fast for a week after coming home, lol.

We had Ligonier events to attend and also a lot of free time to go to the spa and read and chill. One day it was so hot and sunny that I sunbathed by the pool. In Alaska! In the evenings, we spent a lot of time in the Crow's Nest playing card games, listening to live music and chatting. The view from the windows all around up on the 12th floor was breathtaking! 

Considering the amount of people on the ship, there were lots of quiet corners to read in peace, including a lovely library! The sauna that had big windows looking out onto the water was great and hardly anyone seemed to know about it. Yes, there were a lot of older people on the cruise and that's just fine with me.

All in all, I would recommend cruising to Alaska at least once in a lifetime. But, personally, I would like to go again. Maybe not next year, but soon.

 

Alaska part one

I went on a cruise to Alaska last week with a friend. I will have lots of things to say about the actual cruise, which was amazing, but today I want to write about the Ligonier portion of the cruise.

My friend and I had talked about some day combining a cruise with something spiritually meaningful, so when Ligonier announced a cruise leaving from Vancouver to Alaska, we were excited and signed up. I've blogged about Ligonier before so I don't think I need to get into explaining all that again. But, I will say that it is a fantastic Christian organization that is dedicated to deepening and strengthening the faith and Biblical knowledge of Christians. If you're looking for resources including books or podcasts or teaching series or Sunday school materials, they have an abundance of solid resources. I have personally benefitted a great deal from them and have come to understand who God is so much more deeply, especially in the area of His sovereignty.

Anyway, to my delight, not only was the cruise offered by Ligonier, but Bob (W. Robert Godfrey), one of my favourites, was one of the teachers on the book of Philippians. The teaching was solid, like always. But, we also got to sit and have coffee and then later breakfast with Bob. He is hilarious and insightful and just a delight to be around. He is in his 80s and inspires me to keep going, to persevere.

Not only did I get to hang out with Bob, I also got to meet Mrs Vesta Sproul. She is the widow of Ligonier's founder, RC Sproul. Since RC has gone to glory, I was able to thank Mrs Sproul for the transformative impact that Ligonier has had on my life. What a blessing!

In addition to these two, I met so many lovely people who were also on the cruise with Ligonier. The cruiseship had over 3000 people on it, but those who were part of Ligonier were only about 240. So, when we went on excursions, we had enough people to have (almost) everyone on board the train and the smaller boat exclusively from our group. It made things so much more personable. We had reserved tables for our group every night for dinner. Meeting different people over dinner was such a great way to connect and share a meal. Singing together and listening to God's word expounded was meaningful and moving. Walking around the boat seeing someone with a Ligonier name tag felt homey. If I ever do another cruise, I would love for it to be with Ligonier!

Emmi

Emmi got baptised on Easter Sunday, praise God!! Below is her testimony:

I grew up in a Christian home, where we prayed at every meal, and went to church every Sunday. There was never really a time that I didn’t know about Jesus, I had just always known about him. As well, I’ve been going to a Christian school all my life where we had Bible classes, along with a chapel every week where we learned more about God, and heard our teachers testimonies. Because of how I’d grown up surrounded by Christians, and hearing about their faith made it hard for me to make my belief and faith my own, and not just a replica of someone else’s. I found it difficult to have a personal relationship and connection with God, and not just see Him as something people I knew talked about. When my friends started showing their own faith, and their relationship with God, I felt a little offput, that they could put aside their doubt, and that their belief came so easily to them. So, at my summer camp one year, when my friends stood up to give their life to Jesus, I did too. It made me truly realize that I had to make my faith my own, my relationship with God my own, and not just follow my friends and family. The pastor at the summer camp then prayed over us and blessed us, which is the moment that I think of when I think back to when I first started truly believing in God. After that, Jesus slowly started to change me, and has made me more aware of my sin, and helped me to be more repentant. By being able to see my sin more clearly, I’ve been able to see my own need for Jesus, and how He saved me on the cross so that I could be forgiven. As well, it’s allowed me to turn away from my mistakes, and instead focus on being more like God as He helps me grow in my faith. I’ve slowly been forming a relationship with Him, and spending more of my time with Him. Now, I’ve come to make my faith my own, and come to realize that God cares for me, and is always there, as well as ready to help. It says in Mark 16:16, ‘Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.’ I believe, so I’ve realized I want to be baptized, so I could publicly show my faith to others, and be able to take the next step in my faith. I’m especially glad to be baptized at Easter, because that is when Jesus died on the cross to take on my punishment of death for my sin.

Teaching

For the month of February I wrote messages onto hearts for why I love being their teacher. I hid one heart every morning and the students had to come in and find it. They loved looking for the hearts and reading reasons why I love being their teacher. I swear that one of the secrets to classroom management is enjoying the students and having them know it. I really do love teaching them, watching them learn, and laughing at their stories. Don't misunderstand...there are still fights to resolve, special needs, tattling, meanness, forgotten supplies and snacks....the list goes on. But they're also 7, and love school and are excited over books, science experiments, scavenger hunts and nature walks, so teaching them is still fun overall.

family weekend

We just spent an extra long weekend at my brother's house. The weather was beautiful and not too cold, even though it snowed on one day. I love mornings at my brother's house. I wake up in the guest cottage which is a lovely little rustic cabin. I check the time and decide whether I feel like getting up. There are no schedules at my brother's house and I am pretty sure Pentti is the only morning person. When I'm ready, I head over to the main house for coffee in my pajamas. It's usually pretty quiet at that hour since all the kids are late sleepers. I greet Hazel the dog. I enjoy my coffee and slowly wake up. After coffee, I go turn on the sauna. While its heating up, I change and go for a walk with Pentti (and sometimes some others join). We walk along the river joined by a dog or two. The air is fresh and invigorating. Knowing a relaxing sauna awaits spurs me on. After the walk, I enjoy the quiet of the sauna. As the light filters through the cedar-scented air, I breathe deep and admire the wonder of nature outside. The river rushing past, the big trees. It's such a peaceful and soothing start to the day and sets the tone for the rest of the day. 

This time around, the rest of my days were made up of conversation, card games, the Olympics, food and reading. It was truly a family weekend.

Communion

 

Our church does communion every Sunday and it is beautiful. The lining up. The singing. The reminder of Jesus' death on our behalf. The words uttered by the servers. The dipping of the bread and the very physical reminder that I have been saved and made righteous. 

P and I serve on the communion team. On the Sundays that we are scheduled, we stand at the front and serve the bread and the wine. Lately, as I look into the eyes of each person and say the words "the blood of Christ shed for you", it makes me cry. Jesus died for him. And for her. I must be getting soft in my old age. But, I also think that of all the meals that you can share with someone, communion is the most meaningful. It has eternal value. And it is an act of corporate worship. Jesus died for us. We are remembering together.

Inspirational

Do you know these two sisters? They go to my church and we had lunch after women's Bible study on Tuesday. Being with them makes me happy. We laugh a lot when I am with them. Seeing them on Sunday mornings brings me joy. They are in their 70s and 80s and still so vibrant and energetic and servant-minded and funny! They inspire me.