Blog: Cemetery peace
This past summer I spent a lot of time at Toijala cemetery, because my mother is no longer able to take care of our relatives’ graves. For many years already I have planted flowers on the graves in Toijala and also on my grandparents’ graves in Lempäälä and my sister’s grave in Urjala. My mother, however, has been responsible for watering the flowers on the nearby graves. Finnish summers are often so rainy that watering has not been a major task.
Blog: If life had gone differently
Have your sometimes wondered what life would be like if things had gone differently? If you had not fallen ill. If you had been able to go to the summer services. If there had not been an angel to protect you in an accident.
Blog: Light and shade under the sun
Brilliant red and blue flowers, white ribbons and fresh green evergreens against a backdrop of gloomy late October night. Some years ago I went to the cemetery in the night to take pictures. I was due to keep a sermon and was looking for stark contrasts, images of darkness and light, brightness and somberness. I was able to capture all that in one picture.
Blog: Should I give feedback?
I have often come across situations where it would have been good to give feedback. Too often, however, I have not given any. Fortunately, there is still time to learn and develop this important skill.
Blog: Weekdays and holidays
Only some of the days in our unique and valuable lives are ”holy days”. For most of our lives we toil away at our daily tasks and duties. We work hard from day to day and especially hard before a holiday, so that we can then fully enjoy and appreciate the freedom from labor. Slaving away, I would call it!
Blog: Eleventh hour
Many of us know the feeling of having to rush to an appointment or getting an assignment done just before the deadline. Some may even habitually wait until close to the deadline before they accomplish their task. This may be especially true of students preparing for an examination or writing a paper. Some even say that they work most efficiently knowing there is not much time left.
Blog: Growth, flowers, and potatoes sprouting on my window sill
I cannot say exactly when I became a plant enthusiast. I am interested in house plants, cut flowers, and even edible plants. The amazing growth of plants is fascinating and makes me dream of new plant individuals.
Blog: Pandemic entertainment
We are well into the second year of the covid pandemic. What a strange time it has been! Someone told me about their use of time, saying that if they need to go to the post office to get a package, that is the only thing they can fit into their day. How happy I would be now to have even one proper thing to do every day. But that is not always the case. On those days I read the daily paper more carefully than ever. If there is nothing else, we will go to the nearby rail construction site to see if the work is progressing well.
Blog: Shame
On the 7th of September 1986, the casket of Urho Kekkonen, who had been President of Finland for a quarter of a century, was brought into Helsinki Cathedral. After the funeral service, eight lieutenant-generals carried the casket into a hearse and walked by the side of the hearse as far as the Hietaniemi Cemetery. All church bells of Helsinki rang throughout the journey. All Finns seemed to share the grief for his passing. I listened to the ceremony broadcast on the radio, watching the large rowan tree that had turned red outside my window. Flags were flying at half-mast.
Blog: Group work for one person
I started in a new job, and during the first few months already I have had many things to think about. As if I did not have enough on my plate already! Our children often laugh and say that I could write good detective stories with my wide-ranging imagination. My imagination brings a lot of color to our daily life, often only in my dreams but sometimes even in real life.
Blog: For the last time
There are many last times in human life. They involve great joy and expectations, but often also pain and longing.
Blog: Left by the wayside
I have been marveling at the number of people with computer skills during this pandemic. We have online services and live-streamed presentations as a routine. In our home zion, for instance, we had a congregation evening online. Everything was done really professionally. I could not have imagined this a couple of years ago.
Minulle elämä on Kristus ja kuolema on voitto. Fil. 1:21
Blogit
Toimitus suosittelee
Viikon kysymys
Ilmoitukset
Tapahtukoon sinun tahtosi
Vuoden 2021 ajankohtaiskirja käsittelee aiheita kuten uskonnonvapautta ja kristityn vastuuta sekä pandemian aiheuttamia muutoksia arjessamme ja yhteiskunnassa. Samalla se kertoo luottamuksesta muuttumattomiin Jumalan sanan lupauksiin ja hänen hyvän tahtonsa toteutumiseen.
Laina
Perheenäidin selviytymistarina avaa näkymän suomalaisen yhteiskunnan kehittymiseen jälleenrakennuksen ajalta 1960-luvun hyvinvointiin. Samalla se on puheenvuoro kristillisten arvojen puolesta.
Käsi enkelin kädessä
Raikas ja ajankohtainen nuortenkirja käsittelee someriippuvuutta, ystävien merkitystä ja uskonelämän hoitamista.
Ihastuttava eläinmaailma
Tiesitkö, että sudenkorennot ovat eläinmaailman taitavimpia lentäjiä ja saalistajia tai että lapset kuulevat heinäsirkan soiton paremmin kuin aikuiset?
Lapsi olen pieni
Tämä levy vie sinut löytöretkelle lasten Siionin laulujen pariin pienten soololaulajien ja vähän isompien kuorolaulajien mukana. Kuuntele, kuinka koskettavasti, raikkaasti ja mieleenpainuvasti nuori väki laulaa näitä kristillisyydelle arvokkaita lauluja.
Toimitus suosittelee
Viikon kysymys
Ilmoitukset
Tapahtukoon sinun tahtosi
Vuoden 2021 ajankohtaiskirja käsittelee aiheita kuten uskonnonvapautta ja kristityn vastuuta sekä pandemian aiheuttamia muutoksia arjessamme ja yhteiskunnassa. Samalla se kertoo luottamuksesta muuttumattomiin Jumalan sanan lupauksiin ja hänen hyvän tahtonsa toteutumiseen.
Laina
Perheenäidin selviytymistarina avaa näkymän suomalaisen yhteiskunnan kehittymiseen jälleenrakennuksen ajalta 1960-luvun hyvinvointiin. Samalla se on puheenvuoro kristillisten arvojen puolesta.
Käsi enkelin kädessä
Raikas ja ajankohtainen nuortenkirja käsittelee someriippuvuutta, ystävien merkitystä ja uskonelämän hoitamista.
Ihastuttava eläinmaailma
Tiesitkö, että sudenkorennot ovat eläinmaailman taitavimpia lentäjiä ja saalistajia tai että lapset kuulevat heinäsirkan soiton paremmin kuin aikuiset?
Lapsi olen pieni
Tämä levy vie sinut löytöretkelle lasten Siionin laulujen pariin pienten soololaulajien ja vähän isompien kuorolaulajien mukana. Kuuntele, kuinka koskettavasti, raikkaasti ja mieleenpainuvasti nuori väki laulaa näitä kristillisyydelle arvokkaita lauluja.
