The other day, as I was buying a bus-card from the Narvesen kiosk at Oslo S (the Central Station), I got a radically different view of ’smågodt’ (candy you mix yourself in a bag). A couple of guys that looked like they could handle themselves quite well kind of lurked between the boxes, would randomly take up a piece, lick it, and then place it back in the box – ready for the next customer to eat. So much for smågodt!
5 comments oktober 21st, 2009
Recently ordered some books from an unnamed bookstore (which is generally awesome). At checkout, I was given an error page, so I tried 3-4 more times, and each time, I got the same error page. Eventually, I returned back, and it worked. I did not receive a confirmation mail for more than one order, but nevertheless wrote their support in a slightly annoyed tone. Today, I receive a reply to the effect that the order had been drawn 4 times from my account, but they had canceled all but one order, and the money would be refunded. Great. So I write a slightly annoyed reply back, and get a sincere apology. This is when suddenly I realise something.. The books I was ordering were very Christian books.
I’ll tend to run in the park. For some reason – and I was really happy about that – Café Church decided to give me a t-shirt a while back; I often wear it when I run. That is, when I don’t forget I’m wearing it. And suddenly remember after sending some too-smoking people a disapproved look, or looking too long where I probably would be better off taking Job’s advise and averting my eyes.
This is what’s been hitting me more and more recently: No matter if we want it or not, we are, as Christians, walking billboards for what we profess. In a very real flesh-and-blood kind of way. Which is really great – the message of Jesus incarnate; when we display Him.
I’m not advocating flawless Christianity, or that we should ‘get our act together’ (nor that there are not extremely kind, loving and good people out there who are not Christian). I just find it interesting, that in the middle of the hype of ‘transparency’ in so many Christian circles, transparency suddenly hits us right between the eyes where we expect it the least.
5 comments juli 27th, 2009
So a couple of weeks ago, I had a one-day visit from a couple of Newbold people, and in the honour of the 4th of July (and seeing as I got a can of pumpkin from one of them), I decided to make a pumpkin pie!
Results were apparently quite good 
Basically used the recipe at joyofbaking.com, without the pecan and gingersnap layer and with some added vanilla suger. Nice!
Add comment juli 20th, 2009
So I was at the wedding of two good friends last week, which I wasn’t planning to blog much about, except: (this was really awesome) as the (excellent) dining was over, and we moved to more comfortable seating where the entertainment took place, somehow the newly wed couple in an unexpected move of surprise turned the whole thing into church, right then and there.
And so, right there, as we were sitting with our coffee, beer and whatnot around little tables, there was a flashback of something reminiscent of Aarhus Café Church old days style at their wedding reception, though with a decidedly new touch. Complete with thoughts from the bride and groom, worship songs and such. It really felt like the mode for a short while was changed and we were no longer at a wedding party, or rather, we were, but suddenly we were also in church! (which was nice, seeing as practical reasons made it hard to do earlier in the day)
I don’t know what you think when you hear this, but I thought it was really cool. To the wedded couple: Keep this up, and you’ll do amazing stuff!
Add comment juni 20th, 2009
So I just went to the ‘camp-meeting’ of the Adventist church in Norway (where, by the way, I’m staying for the summer). For those that don’t know what this is, it is where many members of the Adventist Church get together for sort of a day of fellowship.
First thought: It was nice. For various reasons, it’s been a couple of weeks since I last had the opportunity to worship with other believers, and that was really nice. Raafat Kamal – known better to some of us as Nat’s dad – gave a very forceful talk about the mission of the church, especially touching on the way we deal with people. Spot on.
Second thought (why am I putting this in bullet-point fashion?): It seems to me – it may not be so though, cf. a conversation I had in the car on the way back, but still, it seems to me – that often we can classify people in our church as belonging to two groups: Those that have their focus on the here and now and those that have their clear focus on his second coming. Within the Adventist Church, with our background and tradition, the latter translates to having a heavy focus on our being in the end time, the coming trials, the call to come out of her (interpretations of Rev 18.4), historical prophecies, and the signs of the times. The latter group seems to be more ‘mainstream’ in their Christian thinking, and generally (i) focus less on these things, while (ii) focusing more on the difference God can make in their lives here and now, the walk with God, the kingdom of God being at hand, and so on (if this group speak of the second coming, it is usually in quite general, more mainline, terms, and not as a focus-point; it’s just part of the bagage). Many times when people step up to the platform to sing a song, contribute with their thoughts, or take part in a debate, I get the feelings they are likely to belong to one of these groupings. I also get the feeling that the directions in which these groups are heading are not the same.
It would be nice to see a synthesis, or a direction that would maintain both, of these two foci – the here and now and the second coming / eternal life – if nothing else, because it seems that both Jesus and Paul managed to have them coexist in their thinking and doing and life. True, this picture is stylised, and I also see a more healthy middle ground in the church, but this seems a minority. I don’t have the answer on how to do it – my theology is probably flawed as well – but I recognise the need within our church for some sort of integration. Much of what has seemed integration up to this point to me does not seem so, since there is often still a lack of focus on the kingdom of God among us, as especially laid out by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark (forgive me if my labelings are not entirely consistent or my thinking not crystal-clear; I hope it still makes sense on some plane of thought). The music program did a good job of trying to integrate though. That was quite good.
Third thought: I have been able to be near – in different settings during the day – a small number of ‘core families’ that seemed to be working very well. It’s funny how you can usually tell when you come into the presence of such a family – the way they interact, the way they treat each other, the implicit respect the parents enjoy from, while not commanding of, the children. Simply a good solid family. Yes, solid is the word. Not coming from such a family myself, I may be more prone to picking up the difference. Whenever I meet people my age who has grown up in a solid family like this, our whole instinctive feeling about marriage seem to be completely opposite. For me, it has been interesting to note that for some people, it would be a strange and foreign thought to worry about the ‘what if’’s and the potential problems (true, some of it may be personality-related, but still I see a pattern). They simply assume, by instinct or experience, that things will work out fine.
Fourth thought: Norway is a really beautiful country. Driving up to Tyrifjord is simply amazing.
12 comments juni 6th, 2009
Met a cute dog in the Metro yesterday. The owner wasn’t too bad either 
During Christmas, me and my sister walked past the saddest looking dog. The owners lurked behind it and had exactly the same sad expression on their faces.
Funny how dogs and owners often look equally dull or interesting.
P.S. Me and my sister also met some other people with a quite nice dog, so if they should be reading this, don’t be mistaken
Add comment januar 8th, 2009
Just finished making a couple of Tiramisu’s. Haven’t had the finished product yet, but from the previews (of the biscuits dipped in coffee and dunked in the mascarpone mix) it promises to be very good indeed
For the Danish-minded people, I found the recipe here: www.dk-kogebogen.dk.
2 comments januar 4th, 2009
So I just went to see Händel’s Messiah with the quite (at least in Denmark) renowned choir Camerata, in Holmens Kirke. Though we didn’t exactly get the best places due to late arrival, it still remains an excellent work and was performed quite well by the choir.
So many bits going through my mind:
‘Every valley, every valley shall be exalted’
‘For He’s like a refiner’s fire’
‘And He shall purify the son’s of levi – that they may offer unto the Lord an offering of righteousness, of righteousness’
‘He was despised, rejected, rejected of men’
‘He gave His back to the smiters. And His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair, and his cheeks to them, that plucked off the hair’
‘And by his stripes we are healed’
‘I know that my redeemer liveth’
‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. And hath redeemed us to God, to God, by His blood. To receive power and riches and wisdom and strenght and honour and glory and blessing’
Just to mention a few… Is there anything left to say but amen?
Savouring the impressions as I’m sitting in the silence of the kitchen at night enjoying peppermint tea and some very nice cheeses and biscuits… 
Add comment december 18th, 2008
So, Tuesday morning, I woke up at about 6.20 from the rumbling of my bed. Being quite tired, I only managed to think ‘this can’t be an earthquake’ and that someone must’ve slammed the door very hard (on reflection that wouldn’t have accounted for the continued rumbling though).
It turns out that Copenhagen was indeed hit by an earthquake that morning. Only a measly 4.7 on the Richter-scale, but for a country that hardly ever experiences such things, it’s quite big.
So there you go: Earthquakes now also in Copenhagen.
2 comments december 18th, 2008
Just stopped by the Royal Library in Copenhagen, in search for some resources, namely a Hebrew Bible and some lexica. I got more than I hoped for; they have the stuttgartensia, Koehler Baumgartner and a number of other reference works I recognize from Newbold – and also some pretty nice facilities
However, I must say, the Newbold library actually quite well competes with the theology section in the diamond – which is no small feat.
Ok, sitting in the researcher’s study area now; need to get serious…
Add comment december 16th, 2008
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