Being 70!

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When I woke up this morning, I just wanted to stay in bed because it was cold and dark. But, no choice again, duty before pleasure. Anyway, I love my work and I am thankful to have one.

 But  in the afternoon, the sun showed up and it really made my day!

Oh! I really love sunset! Don't you?

Anyway, the title of my post is " being seventy". Of course, not me, but my husband's aunt. She invited us to celebrate with her.  It was a pity, my husband is ombord the ship right now...yes again, so it was only me who went. 

Before I leaved, I took  picture of myself to see if I look alright. Pictures of me when I am fifty coz one day I too will be seventy. I am pretty sure that I will be the same. Hi hi. I mean same person.

Well, since my husband's relatives are known to be camera shy, I couldn't show any picture of them. I do took some shots, but with the warning that it should not be published. But they allowed me to publish the pictures of the flowers and the foods.  Yes, I am relieved.  Hi, hi

The flower under is a gift!

The celebrant owns a flower shop before and she can make flower arrangements, as you can see in the pictures under.

    But the flower bouquet under is also a gift. Since my hubby's aunt almost have everything, most of the gifts were flowers bouquets and wines.

Nice candles settings.

The food table. His aunt can really cook.  Hmmm. Nam nam.

My hubby's relatives are also known for the delicious cakes they bake.

More calories... 

 At last, I got permission to show a picture of one of the guests who came. Isn't she sweet? 

                                 Now, she is out to say hello to the other guests.

                                              She can shake hands too!

I wonder what she is eating....she is like a ball. Hi hi

                      Well, day after the birthday celebration...still snowing.

Dark and pushing me to just stay in bed....

Which I did. So I was in my pajama whole the day! Slept and rested. It is exhausting to be invited to birthday celebrations every Saturday. Well, what can you expect? I am already a grandma. LOL!

Bye for now friends. 

JOY 

God whispers....

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Whisper.....whisper....God whispers

What are you saying Lord?

How can a young man keep his ways pure?

By living according to the law of the Lord. Psalm 119.9

I remember when I was a child, we used to wash our clothes in a creek nearby our house. And my mother used to lay white clothes under the sun after soaking them in soap and water. She told me that it makes the clothes whiter. I don't know how it happens, but sure the white clothes became whiter after a while.

We too have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, but to remain clean, God said that we must live according to his law. Not only today, but everyday. But don't worry, God is our helper. He is going to back us up if when we fail. Forgive us not only seven times, but seventy times seven.

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:4-5

These flowers ( daisies) reminds me of the sun. The sun is our source of light on earth. Without that source from the sun, everybody dies.

God said that He is the source of our life and that life was the light of men. It tells me that since God had given us life, our lives should shine and lead others to the source of life.

Unripe plums fruit in my garden last august. I waited patiently for the fruits to be ripened. ( they are gone now, eaten:)  

Everything takes time. Sometimes waiting can test my patience. Because I am a person who hates waiting. Want to have it, want to taste it, want to eat it.

It is like when we are praying for something or someone for days, months or years and still waiting for the answer. Sometimes we want to give up.

God said: Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27: 14

Have to remind myself: Those who wait for something good, do not wait in vain.

Can you see this one apple from our apple tree? In five years, we waited for this tree to bear fruit. And this year, one fruit came. I cannot say that I will have one apple a day to keep the doctor away, but maybe one apple a year to keep the doctor away? Good that I can buy apples from the market. A cure for someone like me who does not like waiting. But, the joy that this one apple from our tree has given us was really worth the waiting.

But I can eat ripe cherry fruit from our cherry tree. Reward of waiting :) Unless the birds eats the fruits before me. I believe they waited too for these fruits to be ripe. And sure enough the birds came, but I did tasted some:)

I waited patiently for the Lord;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me up out from slimy pit,

out of the mud and the mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand

He put a new songs in my my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

I prayed and I waited and I am rewarded. God whispers......." don't give up. I waited for you too"

JOY

They are touching my heart.

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For more than three years, Bjørg ( left) has been working as a volunteer in the activity center where I work. She had been faithful and I really appreciate her effort to help. She is also eveywhere in the community where she can offfer a helping hand.

 Anyway, she told me that her name actually means " to save or to help". So she is really living up to her name. Well I hope I do with my name which means " joy". Hi hi

But the sad thing is that she is going to move to another part of the country and we are not going to see her anymore, unless of course if she will visit us. The fact is that she is getting older now and her plan is to spend the rest of her life living nearby her one and only son and two grandchildren. I really understand her.

                     Then we decided to invite Bjørg to go out and eat in a nearby restaurant.

                       And here are my co-workers Solveig og Anne Lise  joining us.

 
We invited also Mildred, my co -worker who is now a pensioner. We are very happy to see her again and I believe she is happy too.

We invited Iselin ( left) who sometimes works as a volunteer too. 

And now, for the food we ordered:

Mildred 

My order is a Mexican dish. Really miss my daughter who is in Mexico.

For Solveig

Anne Lise

                                                               Iselin

Bjørg

and the rest

Bjørg read a poem for us before we departed, but it was in Norwegian language and difficult to tranlate in English, so I borrowed this poem from " Google".

                                                                       source
                                   And we gave Bjørg a bottle of coffee liqueur as a gift.

And last but not the least, my daughter  Kamilla sent pictures from Mexico that really touched my heart.
                                                 
                                             Here she is, cooking dinner.

And her friends and a visitor from Norway. The brother of Caroline, second from the right.

My daughter's  ( left) smile makes me happy.

And this is a part of their curriculum. Playing volleyball.

The area which my daughter stays with three other girls from Norway.

 A picture of a church in Merida  ( Mexico) where the students visited.

       
     And   picture of the hotel in Merida center where she stayed with other students when they had field trip .

                              Oh, I wish I can be there. Pictures that touching my heart.

                                                                      JOY

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Busy as a Bee

One day, I was walking around my little garden to see if there was something new to discover. As I wandered among the flowers, I noticed something that caught my attention.

As you can see in the picture, a bee is gathering nectar from a flower in my garden. Bees need nectar to survive. During the summer, they are busy flying from flower to flower, collecting the food they need.

Very much like us humans, isn't it?

Busy, busy as a bee.

The question is: What are we busy doing?

We can be busy with things that bring no benefit to ourselves or to others. We can become so occupied with making a living that we forget how to live. We can spend our days chasing one task after another and miss the things that truly matter.

What will we choose?

Matthew 4:4 says:

"Jesus answered, 'It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

As I pondered Jesus' words, a thought came to mind. Jesus speaks the truth. Food is important, but so are the words we speak and the words we listen to.

Just imagine two people sitting together for a meal without saying a single word. It would be rather boring, wouldn't it? Or imagine a world without speech at all. Even if the world had all the natural resources needed for survival, people would still struggle without communication. We were created for relationships, and relationships are built through words.

Jesus said that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. He said this because God is the source of life. When God speaks, things happen. He spoke creation into existence. His words bring hope, healing, wisdom, guidance, and salvation.

If we want our own words to bring encouragement, life, and blessing to others, then we must first listen to the Source of life.

God says in Proverbs 18:21:

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."

It is as if God is reminding us:

"Be careful with your words. They have the power to build up or tear down, to heal or to hurt, to bring life or death."

So today, while the bees are busy gathering nectar, let us also be busy gathering God's Word into our hearts. For just as nectar nourishes the bee, God's Word nourishes our souls.

Have a busy bee day, friends! 🐝🌼

Plum cake with vanilla cream!

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In my last post I said that I am going to bake a cake to be served to elderly.  We are visiting them often and share God's words and love to them. 

And here is my " Plum cake with vanilla cream. This is a double portion since they are many.

The ingredients:  8 eggwhites, 5 dl sugar, 5 dl dry grated coconut , 4 tablespoons potto flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder.

                                                                          Procedure:

                                             Separate the egg white from the yolks

 Add sugar and whip until creamy

Add dry grated coconut, potato flour and baking poweder.

Whip together

                                                        Put in a baking pan

                                                        Bake in the oven for 180 degrees

                                              The finished cake: The layer

Cook  dried plums in a little water until soft. Let it be cold.

I used a finished vanilla cream from the shop. But you can make vanilla cream instead if you want.

Just combine the eggyolks, 2 dl whipping cream, 2 dl sugar and 2 tsp vanilla sugar. Then cook in a low heat until thick. This shoud be spread on top of the cake.

After spreading the vanilla cream, I decorated with 3 dl whipped cream and dried plums!

And here is the finished cake!

              My sister and my brother.in-law baked this cake also to be served to the elderly.

                                                        And made  sandwiches....

Ready to be served. 

Then, here are elderly and Claudia is going to share God's word to them.

Other side with my sister.

                                                            The choir !

                                      And the rest of the volunteers.

 By the way, Claudia ( from Mexico)  baked " Tiramishu cake too which I forgot to take a picture. So she can bake, sing and preach God's words. She is also an artist and computer engineer. A woman with many gifts:)

And of course Maria Estella and her  kids  were with us too and the kids are the sweetest of all!

Wonderful friends who want to served God by sharing God's words and love to the elderly.

Thanks to all!

JOY