Judging by the book

So today I spent at least 5 hours trying to understand these 2 chapters in the Bible that were just difficult to grasp. These were Judges, chapters 11 and 12. Can't say it was time wasted, but it was definitely very challenging and somewhat frustrating. When your Bible is a New-Norwegian translation and you are reading the old testament, things become very complicated in a matter of seconds. The language is just a bit...tricky, to say the least. Luckily I did not have to despair for long because of the great invention of the Internet!!! I googled the NIV version and read the chapters, but then a new problem arose. I just did not get it. Have you ever had that happen to you - one minute you are reading something and you understand everything and all is fine, and the next you're just lost and you can't seem to grasp anything? It's like you kind of know what it's saying but then again something isn't quite adding up and there seems to be a deeper meaning with all of it that you just don't get. Well, that's what happened to me anyway. Never mind all the people and places that have oh so difficult names (which I often seem to confuse...I always confuse city names with people names :S), but the random vow and the brutal sacrifice just don't fit in let alone make any sense.

Luckily the Internet had some answers for me. As did my pastor who happened so conveniently to be online when I was stuck with all these questions. At the end of the day I finally grasped some valuables from these chapters and here is what I learned:

1) Never make rash decisions or vow's. And whatever you do don't treat God as a vending machine saying if you give me this then I will... God knows what he wants from you and he will tell/ask whenever and whatever he sees fit

2) All can serve God, no matter what background you come from, what your relatives and family have done you are not them and it is up to you whether you are going to choose to serve God or not. He has a plan for everyone and he never puts anyone in "booths" of useful and useless. Therefore neither should we put each other in those booths, for none of us are better than others

3) If you are in a quarrel with someone, do not attack them with aguments and anger, you are then stooping to their level. In stead, try to show the other party their unreasonableness by calm explanation of your point of view, if the other person hears you then you can resolve the issue calmly and no one will come to harm.

4) Trust in God in all you do and ask for His advice. Only He knows all and will tell you what the right thing is. Doing it your way without consulting God is very silly and often you end up in a situation you could have easily avoided if you had just sought God's word and listened to Him in the first place.

Easter Eggs

Just came back home for Easter holidays. Already met up with two of my friends, which is better than expected (no offence). Is good to be back but every time I visit there seems to be so much news I need to catch up on. Relationships ending, relationships starting, people who start working, people who quit working and start school in stead, and also people who stop talking to each other for some obscure reasons. Sometimes it feels like I've fallen so far behind I can never catch up. It's like I exist in a different world and when I come back to this one I am an alien who has to accommodate to new rules and customs. It can be quite annoying sometimes. It's good to have my friends there to make the transition go smoother, but I wish I could be better at keeping in contact with them while I'm away. That is something I definitely need to improve on, specially since I have every opportunity to do so as they are all frequent facebook visitors.

This Easter I have great plans to actually finish planning my inter rail trip for this summer. I need to look up ways for us to get to our first destination, order all the tickets and hostels etc., and look up recommended tourist attractions in each country we're going to. It will be a challenge to find all the places we want to see and ways to get there, but I think it'll be alright because both Ingrid and I can be very organised at times and so hopefully together we can plan something that will end up being a wonderful trip :) I also want to get in shape for Hadrian's wall as it now seems that I am coming along to that as well. Don't even fully know what Hadrian's wall is or where it is but apparently 8 days will be enough to see it. Those 8 days have been promised to me to be filled with a lot of walking, so I kind of need to prepare for that in advance, so that I don't collapse on the first day and have to go home immediately. That is why I plan to start running 3 times a week. Hopefully I'll stick to my plan this time.

Somewhere in between all of the jogging and planning I also have to work and revise for my exams. All of my exams are crammed into 2 weeks so once again I will have to resume to living in the library. Seems like it's my permanent habitat, that place. Oh and I have to write a lab report while I'm home too, man this is going to be a busy holiday. Life is never easy, is it?!

Laminin

Lately I've been a bit absent...to say the least. Work has been crazy and being a Vice President in a society takes some time as well. Sometimes I lose focus, and even a bit of faith in myself and in the world. At those times it's nice to know that it's not up to me, but up to God. He is the glue that holds the whole world together. He also holds me together, all of me, all my life and even all the little pieces that make me, well....me. Wanna know how I know this? It's all about Laminin!



"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together"
- Colossians 1:16-17, The Bible