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: 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: Why should we pray?
"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." (Ps. 91:11–12).
Blog: Experiences of the covid year
A year ago, I was invited to start blogging for Päivämies. Optimistically, I expected that, given a full year, I would find 12 fairly good ideas for blog posts. Well, I didn’t. Deadlines came and went, and I often did not even touch the pen in the meantime.
Blog: Grandpa, come and play with me
A year ago our son suggested that he could bring his family to live in our home office for as long as they were building their new house. That meant we had to start clearing the room.
Blog: The sun or the wind?
”The wind gathered its strength and blew even harder. The trees bent down and the water surged and boiled, but the traveler just wrapped his cloak more tightly around him.” This is an extract from a fairy tale titled The sun and the wind, which was written by Aesop more than 2500 years ago.
Blog: Empowering memories
Wednesday is the most important weekday. Soon after the noon I begin to glance at my watch, wondering if the mailman has already come. A large part of the advertising flyers and other leaflets that come into our mailbox go unread into the recycling bin. But I take the daily newspapers, stack them by my armchair and begin to read. The biggest local paper contains a lot of interesting information about Kainuu, Finland and the world.
Blog: Getting lost
My mother married a man who owned a very remote farm. She needed time to get familiar with the surrounding forest. At that time cattle were allowed to graze and roam freely in the woods. There were no fences, and the cows were free to move around. In the late summer they sometimes walked long distances to find mushrooms to eat.
Blog: Many kinds of angels
Marraskuu, the Finnish name of November, means ‘month of death’. It is certainly a fitting name. November is dead, dark and cold. The last swans have left, and we no longer hear their constant trumpeting song. The lake has gone through a cycle of freezing, thawing, re-freezing and re-thawing, and snow has done the same. In between the snowy periods we have had rain and the evenings and nights have been pitch black. Even mornings were quite dark for a while, but as soon as we got snow, mornings took on the lovely shades of blue twilight.
Blog: Half a century ago
Half a century ago I parked my car in the center of Sotkamo and walked across a square of grass, bluebells and clovers surrounded by tall pines. I had been appointed junior teacher in Sotkamo middle school and high school, and I was on my way to meet the principal – the Principal with a capital P.
Blog: Oh, the good old times!
I suddenly remembered a small, seemingly unimportant incident from my youth. I was about twenty and already aware of my innate impatient restlessness, which I continue to feel occasionally. “Where should we go?” I often asked then and still do today.
Blog: Is Sunday not a day of rest any more?
I wake up on a Sunday morning to sounds from the neighboring yards. On one yard the house owner is cutting firewood with a circular saw, on another I can hear a lawnmower and a trimmer. This makes me wonder how differently people feel about spending Sundays. Many of them postpone so many weekly chores till Sunday that they need the whole day to do them.
Sinä tahdot sisimpääni totuuden – ilmoita siis minulle viisautesi! Ps. 51:8
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.
