Appearances

She was pudgy and always had acne on her face. Because of this, she was never popular at school. As she studied, other kids whispered about her "ugly" looks. She had a tender heart though, and always stuck up for other kids that were laughed at. She was a friend to all those who needed one...

She was slim and spent several hours each morning putting on makeup and doing her golden hair. She knew she was "beautiful," and wouldn't acknowledge other "less popular" people. As she walked, people would whisper about the "beauty" that just passed...

My question about these two analogies is: "what makes a person beautiful"? Is the amount of makeup, or the nice clothes make you more beautiful than others? If you are not popular, does that make you of less worth than others that are?

1 Samuel 16:7 states: "For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

The Bible states that our outward appearance will be changed when Jesus comes anyway. Our inward appearance is something that we will have for eternity.

I would like to propose to my blog readers to spend less time trying to make your outward appearance more attractive, but try to adorn your heart in such a way that it is pleasing to God.

A prayer answered

I yawned and rolled out of bed onto my knees. As I began my morning prayers, I mentioned to God that I really wanted to have a meaningful conversation about Him to someone that day.

I worked in the morning, and that enabled me to go for a walk with the guests to the mountains. It was extremely icy, so I walked with our oldest guest in order that he would have help on the slippery parts so he wouldn't fall.

His name is Hans Olaf, and he has been a regular at Fredheim for as long as any of us can remember. He is 93 years old and goes out skiing everyday, unless it is summer, when he swims. In the summer, he lives in a small cabin about a mile from the nearest house. During the winter though, he makes his residence here at Fredheim. My boss always introduces him to the news guests as "Fredheim's mascot".



As we walked, Hans Olaf and I talked about many various things: How the weather was, where he liked to travel, his favorite foods, ect. We then decided to rest awhile on the steps of an old house, built in the 1600s. The snow was beautiful, sparkling in the bright Spring sun. Not a cloud was in the sky, and it was such a dark blue, that my photos couldn't even register the color.

I mentioned to Hans Olaf how wonderful God was, creating such a beautiful earth. He heartily agreed, then continued to speak more about Creation, and what days each thing was created. We spoke about the New Earth, and how even more glorious it would be. There we will have no more crying or pain, and everything will be created anew with even more beauty than we can imagine! We will not even need the sun, because God will be our light! Even though there is 73 years difference between Hans Olaf and I, the years seemed to dissipate as we both excitedly talked about our mutual Friend, Jesus.

I felt such a blessing through our conversation, and praise God that He does answer prayers!

"No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light; but you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory." -- Is. 60:19

They're coming! He's coming!

I can't believe my parents are coming!!!!!!!!!!!! The day is fast approaching until they arrive, and on Friday afternoon I will be on my way to the airport to pick them up! My parents have been my mentors, educators, and best friends for as long as I can remember, and I am so happy that they are coming here to visit. I am on the edge of my seat in anticipation of their soon arrival! As each day is marked off the calendar, I think of the preparations they are making to come over, and their excitement matched with mine as they board the plane tomorrow. You can be sure that I am busily getting prepared so that they can get the "real Norwegian experience."



I couldn't help thinking how Jesus must feel as He prepares to come and take us heaven. Do we look with eager anticipation for Him? Does He look down and see us all in a flutter getting things prepared for His arrival? Or does He see us lackadaisically going about our everyday life? Are we prepared for His coming? I pray that as each day is marked off on our calendar, we will be even more eager for Jesus' return, knowing that it is one less day until He comes!