Right way, wrong direction?

I would like to share something more from our trip to Sandby. To get there from the airport in Nyköping we rented a car. We had a good map as well and we were really glad that already with the first try we found the right way E4 that we have seen in a map like the way we need to take at first to go to the direction we needed.

Everything was great - the sun was shining and we had a great new car. We even had found E4 without getting lost somewhere in the city. After some kilometers one girl eventually asked - we are on the highway E4, but do we drive the right direction? We became stiff for a moment - hey, that is a really good question! As we found E4 we turned right without thinking. Maybe we should have turned left instead? So we tried to explore the map to find out if we have made a mistake.
The place we needed to reach is in the South but we were driving to the North in the direction to Stockholm instead! So we turned around and drove back but stopped to really examine the map and to find out were we should go.
Yeah, Sandby is to the South but to get there we should go to the North at first and the in one large crossroad take another direction. So we hadn't made a mistake at first but then when we thought that we have made a mistake and tried to fix it.
In that situation if we have a map we have a great advantage to stop for a while and search the right way and the right direction in it. Sometimes in our lives we have some questions and have to make some choices but we can't find a map that would show the way. That reminds me about one idea expressed in the book Live Life on purpose I have mentioned also before. There is said that more than a map we need a compass that always shows the right direction.

There is way, so which direction should I take?

Sandby, Sweden

There is a little village Sandby in Öland, Sweden. We, a group of five people, visited this place to meet children and teachers from Latvia that are spending three weeks there in a rectory in a camp. We have visited them also previously in a center where they meet after school but now there was a possibility to spend some time together in a place far away from home.

that place where we stayed

I think we had a great time. Sandby is really nice quiet place. The sea isn't far away (but after this time I star to appreciate the seaside in Latvia - here at least it is cleaner and there aren't so many seaweeds). But there are some things that are really nice - those desert places where you can see far ahead and there are only some junipers.

it is nice there

With those children we had some trips with bikes and also some hiking. I enjoyed also talking, playing cards and just spending time together. I hope these children will enjoy this time as well and see and experience that there can be a different life and better living conditions and more caring and loving relationships than they maybe have at home.

Children enjoys the sea

we come back from the sea

So we came home, they will stay there for another 10 days and what next? Will it be the same again? Luckily there is that center for children Sirdsgaisma where they try to help different children also coming from harsh conditions.

Don't make a living - make a life

Samuel Zwemer has said:

"Don't make a living - make a life!"

Sometimes it is tempting to strive for things that doesn't count. Maybe they seems great in a place and time we are now but they would be nothing after 10 years, they would be nothing in eternity.
So I hope and pray to learn more how to make a life - real, true life not just a living.

What dreams may come

Today I watched a film What Dreams May Come. It is a bit confused fantasy story about love that survives anything, also death. There are things that seems silly in this film but it surprised me and made me think about the question - what could it look like in the other place (not Heaven). I don't know exactly, but one thing I know for sure I truly don't want to be there, moreover, I don't want to see there my beloved and friends.

The philosophy of this film isn't exactly in line of my believes but I think there was a great reflection of the joy when a person is saved and will not perish any more. That is amazing moment that has consequences in eternity. It makes me think how do I lead my life and can I be a tool how others come to Christ and be saved. As one of my friends once wrote - her job is hell depopulation. We are just a tool but still it is our decision if we want to be used for this job.

YBH

I have heard about one Russian man that after reading some books opened the first page and wrote there three letters. If translated to English they could be YBH.

There are a lot of good Christian books in many languages. Sometimes there is a feeling that they are written on every topic you can imagine. So you can read one, then other but how that changes your life? If there is some changes that leads you closer to God and helps you to understand Him more, you can be happy. Still, usually remains a feeling that they are not written for me but for somebody else that has a different experience, different knowledge and different amount of faith.

So if we return to the topic YBH, what does these three letters mean? YBH. In Latvian the first letter is "J" and as I have asked children to guess what does it stand for, of course, every would say "Jesus". That is the correct answer for all the questions in Sunday school and other places where people talks about God, right? Not this time.

YBH - yes, but how? These letters express the feeling that all the ideas written in a book can be approved but there isn't said anything about the ways how they can be realized in our everyday life. That is the reason why there still remains a question - yes, but how? YBH.

I can't give some super - formula for every case but I can encourage you to think about this YBH question and not to put good ideas aside just because you don't know how to use them in this moment. Keep in mind that YBH question and be tireless searching the answer.

Olympic torch

There are some times all you can do is dehydrate yourself crying because you can feel that there has been some great changes in your life. Maybe you feel wrecked but you know that these changes were necessary and that your life will never be the same again.
I have experienced that several times. I can't say that it happens too often but there are some cases.

I am reading a book Live Life on Purpose by Claude Hickman and there is a story about the Olympic torch - a great tradition of the Olympics. One runner pass it to another and that is a way how it travels all around the world. It would be something incredible if somebody lost that torch or would just think it is not worth running and giving it to the next person.
It is the same with the message about the Christ that has died for our sins. You hear the message and it is up to you what are you going to do next. Are you going to live a life as nothing has happened? Will you put that torch aside and say that you will pass it later - after finishing some school, after finding some really cool job or just in a time when there will be more free time?
It is up to you. But the importance of this message is even higher that the importance of passing on the Olympic torch not to spoil one tradition of the Olympics. It is a question of eternity. If you have received that joyful message you know how it can change both the life on Earth and the way how you pass eternity. There are many people that still haven't heard that message.