Not to put a damper on the Thanksgiving mood, but I highly recommend taking a little time to watch this video (just click on the picture above to get to the website and push play). It is a good reminder of (or perhaps new insight into) what I would say is most of our consumer lifestyles, and what the result of our choices are- how it affects much more than we can see. Hopefully it will inspire you to think more seriously about how we consume. We have a lot to be thankful for to be sure, but there is a lot that we can do without and a lot of choices we can make everyday that will prevent us from being a part of a system that is destroying the planet and lives all over the world. The world is getting smaller in many ways and we have a responsibility to be aware of how we are contributing to what is happening in it.
Please take some time to be informed.
I am reminded again how thankful I am for the things that really matter: relationships with family and friends, and having my basic needs provided for- all the extra "stuff" should mean little in light of that. My prayer is that I would be aware of my how my actions affect the world as well as engaged in learning to live more sustainably. To me this is one powerful way to grow in love for others.

P.S. I read about this video on our friends Richard and Angela's website: http://richyangbaby.blogspot.com/. They are really an inspiration to me and are doing a lot to be involved in these issues in their everyday life, especially with their first child on the way. Feel free to check it out!

Much to be Thankful for

Here are some scenes from the past months starting with the most recent! As Thanksgiving approaches, we are reminded of how much we truly have to be thankful to God for. How crazy that we ended up in Norway but yet how incredible the grace of God that brought us here. And how amazing that He has blessed us with so many wonderful friends from all over the world and families that love and support us- for those of you that are not with us- we miss you and will miss celebrating Thanksgiving with family, but you are all in our hearts! We are thankful for YOU- may you experience the fullness of God's love each and ever day as expressed so wonderfully through Jesus and know you are in our thoughts and prayers!

Yep, the snow has come! This is the street we live on. Probably around 3:30 in the afternoon when it is almost dark (right now- sunrise: 9:13, sunset: 2:54)

Our Discipleship Group Cabin Adventure
Before...
3 hrs. later after wading through waist-deep snow and realizing we aren't going to make it to the cabin...

sometimes you just have to swallow your pride and admit defeat- but we still had a great time spending the night at our friends' place and grilling outside the next day! The Norwegian wilderness can be beautiful but brutal!

What a great group of hard-core Norwegians ;)

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Friends Nicholas and Jessica Lusk who we know from Duluth and are doing YWAM's "Around the World" trip, decided to spend the end of their experience traveling to different missionaries they knew around Europe so spend a week with us in Trondheim. Was great to spend time getting to know them better and have welcomed company!

couldn't resist sharing this "jumping picture"- Hilarious!

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QUEST
Been getting some creative ideas from our freshmen students to engage people at the university campus. For example: How long can you hold a bottle of liquid to win a gift certificate and free house cleaning??? Students really had a good time with this one. We've had more help from students than ever before which has made a huge difference- especially having fluent Norwegian speakers! :)

Trying to have a Quest table every other week now to engage students in conversation by giving out free coffee and asking them what they think about certain life questions like, "If you could have one question answered in life what would it be?" or "What is happiness in your life?" This one resulted in two of the students helping us to have a great hour long discussion with some classmates about faith!Our group of 9 meeting every Tuesday night (a miracle!) to eat dinner together, worship and pray, and discuss the Sermon on the Mount with The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. It has been so life-giving and a great example of Christian community seeking to live out the teachings of Jesus.

Fall Weekend Get-Away

Crazy Norwegians (and one Dutch)! :) There were 10 of us that had a really great time together seeking God. Thank you for your prayers! We tried some new things like different stations of worship combining elements of art, meditation on scripture, visuals, journaling, etc. This was a challenge but also an enlightening experience as we tried to make the weekend one of participation (instead of just "preaching") and learning how to combine intimacy with God into our everyday experiences and passions- something that is really a challenge for students here. Our prayer is that these young adults would experience freedom in their personal relationships with God and who they are created to be in a way that gives them an excitement and hunger to grow deeper in their faith.The art corner was a hit! One of the pictures made by a Norwegian:

verses to focus on, candles to light for friends and family we are praying for

Afternoon hike in the forest...really beautiful

Renewed in knowledge…

This semester I (Brett) have had a weekly Bible study with a friend who’s studying at the science and engineering campus of the university. We have gone through Colossians together and have now moved on to Acts. I just wanted to share a few thoughts from what we have talked about in Colossians.

There is a common verse that is quoted often, Col. 3:10, “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (NIV). I have often, if not always, associated this to mean that somehow the new self becomes more knowledgeable. My first impression of the word ‘knowledge’ has to do with the scientific knowledge in my brain, my ability to know facts, how something functions, comprehend God, etc. But as Magnus and I slowed down to really look at this verse in English and Norwegian, I became interested in the original Greek word too.

The common Greek word “Gnosis” in fact is closely connected with my first impression of the English word “knowledge.” But the word used in Col. 3:10 is not gnosis, but “epignosis,” which can be translated as recognition, full discernment, or acknowledgement. Actually the KJV of this verse uses ‘acknowledgement’ instead of “knowledge,” so this really interests me.

As we studied the surrounding verses to understand Paul’s original intent, this really opened up a new and deeper meaning for me. The paragraph where this verse is found (3:5-11), Paul is communicating to the recipients to put to death a list of things that cause harm to the individual committing it, but perhaps even more so to the object of this action—another person. Apparently there is “anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language” (v. 8) present in this community; all of which have a direct consequence between two different people no matter how internalized they may be. So when Paul continues to say, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” he is going way beyond one person’s mental capacity to know things and is directly speaking to how they treat and relate with one another. This is in fact much more penetrating to the heart and requires serious attention in each of our lives.

Let’s go a little farther if you’re still with me. :) “Renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” If you are renewed in your recognition or acknowledgement of the image of Creator God, then you can ask what is the image of the Creator? This is a reference to Genesis when God created man and women in His image. If all people are created in the image of God, then every person is worthy of honor and respect. Paul is clearly pointing out to the Colossians their lack of recognition of God’s image in each person surrounding them.

We are called to acknowledge each person we meet as though they are created in the image of God, because that is what we are. Paul continues on to one of my favourite passages in the Bible when he uses the imagery of clothing, “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (3:12,14).

As a follower of Jesus, my new self has been put on, and it is (or should be) an extremely visible existence like the clothes I wear. It is not a magical event of receiving more knowledge in my brain, but a transformed life in how I see and love those around me. May you and I continually be renewed in acknowledgement of the image of God in each person we relate to today.

An Historic Time to be Alive
Regardless of who you voted for, I think we all have to admit that this is an historic time for America and an amazing opportunity to witness the kind of change that has occurred in our nation. That for the first time in its history, an African American has been elected president. Brett and I, to speak for ourselves, found it to be quite a significant and emotional day.

Some thoughts on Election Day...

I know today is considered quite the historical one and yes, we did vote via absentee ballot. But that being said, I read this really great excerpt from Greg Boyd's book entitled The Myth of a Christian Nation and have to say, that no matter what the results end up being tonight, as a Christian I must choose to ask God to help me to live as one under His rule above that of the world's. I desire to be a participant in the Kingdom of God of which Jesus has made available to everyone but that we then must choose to grab a hold of. The excerpt is long, I know, but I encourage you to take a little time to read it, and if you only have a few minutes, I recommend at least reading the bold paragraphs at the beginning and end. Would love to hear your thoughts. This way of being has not only my vote, but my very life.

The Kingdom of God in contrast to the Kingdom of the World

"Once again, this is the kingdom of God: It looks and acts like Jesus Christ. It looks and acts like Calvary. It looks and acts like God’s eternal, triune love. It consists of people graciously embracing others and sacrificing themselves in service to others. It consists of people trusting and employing “power under” rather than “power over,” even when they, like Jesus, suffer because of this. It consists of people imitating the Savior who died for them and for all people. It consists of people submitting to God’s rule and doing his will. By definition, this is the domain in which God is king.

It this light, it should now be obvious why Jesus said his kingdom was “not from this world,” for it contrasts with the kingdom of the world in every possible way. This is not a simple contrast between good and evil, for, as we’ve seen, God gives the governments of the kingdom of the world power to carry out the service of keeping law and order in a fallen world. Not only this, but kingdom-of-God citizens are to humbly acknowledge that we are the worst of sinners (Matt.7;1-3; cf. 1Tim. 1:15-16), acknowledging, as Jesus himself did (thought he was sinless), that the only one who is truly good is God (Luke 18:19). The contrast is rather between two fundamentally different ways of doing life, two fundamentally different mindsets and belief systems, two fundamentally different loyalties.

It will be helpful to end this chapter by summarizing these contrasts under five headings.

*A Contrast of Trusts: The kingdom of the world trusts the power of the sword, while the kingdom of God trusts the power of the cross. The kingdom of the world advances by exercising “power over,” while the kingdom of God advances by exercising “power under.”

*A Contrast of Aims: the kingdom of the world seeks to control behavior while the kingdom of God seeks to transform lives from the inside out. Also, the kingdom of the world is rooted in preserving, if not advancing, one’s self-interests and one’s own will, while the kingdom of God is centered exclusively on carrying out God’s will, even if this requires sacrificing one’s own interests. To experience the life of the kingdom of God, one has to die to self (Matt. 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 17:33; John 12:25; Gal. 2:19-20).

*A Contrast of Scopes: The kingdom of the world is intrinsically tribal in nature, and is heavily invested in defending, if not advancing, one’s own people-group, one’s nation, one’s ethnicity, one’s state, one’s religion, one’s ideologies, or one’s political agendas. That is why it is a kingdom characterized by perpetual conflict. The kingdom of God, however, is intrinsically universal, for it is centered on simply loving as God loves; It is centered on people living for the sole purpose of replicating the love of Jesus Christ to all people at all times in all places without condition. The kingdom-of-God participant has by love transcended the tribal and nationalistic parameters of whatever version of the kingdom of the world they find themselves in.

*A Contrast of Responses: The kingdom of the world is intrinsically a tit-for-tat kingdom; its motto is “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” In this fallen world, no version of the kingdom of the world can survive for long by loving its enemies and blessing those who persecute it; it carries the sword, not the cross. But kingdom-of-God participants carry the cross, not the sword. We, thus, aren’t ever to return evil with evil, violence with violence. We are rather to manifest the unique kingdom life of Christ by returning evil with good, turning the other cheek, going the second mile, loving, and praying for our enemies. We are to respond to evil in a way that protects us from being defined by it and that exposes the evil as evil, thereby opening up the possibility that our “enemy” will be transformed. Far from seeking retaliation, we seek the well-being of our “enemy.”

*A Contrast of Beliefs: The kingdom of the world has earthly enemies and, thus, fights earthly battles; the kingdom of God, however, by definition has no earthly enemies, for its disciples are committed to loving “their enemies,” thereby treating them as friends, their “neighbors.” There is a warfare the kingdom of God is involved in, but it is “not against enemies of blood and flesh.” It is rather “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

Conservative religious people involved in kingdom-of-the-world thinking often believe that their enemies are the liberals, the gay activists, the ACLU, the pro-choice advocates, the evolutionists, and so on. On the opposite side, liberal religious people often think that their enemies are the fundamentalists, the gay bashers, the Christian Coalition, the antiabortionists, and so on. Demonizing one’s enemies is part of the tit-for-tat game of Babylon, for only by doing so can we justify our animosity, if not violence, toward them. What we have here are two different religious versions of the kingdom of the world going at each other. If we were thinking along the lines of the kingdom of God, however, we would realize that none of the people mentioned in the above lists are people whom kingdom-of-God-citizens are called to fight against. They are, rather, people whom kingdom-of-God citizens are called to fight for.

Our battle is “not against flesh and blood,” whether they are right wing or left wing, gay or straight, pro-choice or pro-life, liberal or conservative, democratic or communist, American or Iraqi. Our battle is against the “cosmic powers” that hold these people, and all people, in bondage. Whatever our own opinion about how the kingdom of the world should run, whatever political or ethical views we may happen to embrace, our one task as kingdom-of-God disciples is to fight for people, and the way we do it is by doing exactly what Jesus did. He defeated the cosmic powers of darkness by living a countercultural life characterized by outrageous love and by laying down his life for his enemies. So too, we contribute to the demise of the “power over” principalities that hold people in bondage when we retrain from judgment of others and rather extend grace to them, when we let go of anger toward others and instead “come under” them in loving service.

A person may win by kingdom-of-the-world standards but lose by the standards that eternally count—the standards of the kingdom of God. We can possess all the right kingdom-of-the-world causes, but if we don’t look like Jesus Christ carrying his cross to Golgotha—sacrificing our time, energy and resources for others—our rightness is merely religious noise. Jesus taught that there will be many who seem to believe right things and do religious deeds in his name whom he will renounce, for they didn’t love him by loving the homeless, the hungry, the poor, and the prisoner (Matt. 7:21-23; 25:41-46; cf. Luke 6:46-49). However right we may be, without love we are simply displaying a religious version of the world, not the kingdom of God."