Skip to main content

Missions and prayer in one place.

Sat here in the kitchen of the flat I have been staying in while here at YWAM Grimerud. I leave tomorrow so I figured it’d be a good moment to sit down and write a little bit in my blog. It’s already dark outside and it’s only 4:30 pm. I suppose that’s why we talk about it being dark and cold in winter. It’s dark and it’s certainly cold. Outside everything is covered in snow and it’s beautiful. During the day the sky is spectacular and it almost takes my breath away when I look at creation and realise its part of the beauty that is in God’s heart.

It’s been a nice week. The first few days were crazy. Hundreds of YWAM staff and students packed together for the January staff conference. As usual I felt a tad overwhelmed by the vast amount of people I didn’t know...but then I could nip off to the flat or the prayer room which was a welcome retreat from people. Good conference which reminded me again that YWAM truly is a mission organisation and gave me a good overview of what YWAM Norway is all about.

The prayer room. In October they started up 24/7 prayer as one of the ministries here at the base. And they really have been going 24/7 since. It’s not quite like IHOP-KC (although it’s the same Holy Spirit). The room has more of a contemplative feel (at least these days) in that it’s quieter and usually has a CD running or a devotional set. But they also do some Harp & Bowl sets (the style used at IHOP-KC) which is really fun. The team is great!! A bunch of quality, committed people who are passionate about God and believe in the raising up the House of Prayer. And it’s amazing to see how they are faithfully keeping the prayer room going even if it means being only one person in the room at times.

I’ve spent a lot of my time these past few days there. A lot of my time just asking Jesus what His path for me is and reading His word. Most of all wanting to connect to Him and to His heart.

So here I’m sat. The kettle just boiled, ready for me to make myself a cup of Earl Grey tea. As for the way forward. I know a few more steps, but I’ll have to write about them another day.

Popular posts from this blog

Small moments that mean a lot

Walking home on the crunchy snow that lights up a December evening,  I felt so thankful. The revelation that fellowship and being together is the best gift you can give someone, and realising that although it might seem small, it can turn into something big when a person feels seen and valued.  Yesterday I helped out with a crafts workshop for a group of lovely women volunteering for Crux where I worked before (well, in all honesty: they were making angels while I ate Christmas cookies, Quality Street chocolate, and chatted). I love walking alongside people in conversation, and realise sharing life for 2 hours can last so much longer in value and experience.  This evening we had our Christmas dinner for volunteers and people who are part of my current job. It was a delightful evening with many nations gathered around the same table…. eating the same food… and for a few hours creating a small fellowship moment that will become a good memory for the future. Often in my job ...

Single-tasking September: The art of single-tasking.

To change habits and ways of life, the motivation for change has to be strong, and the benefits outweigh the effort it takes to make the change.  For so long it’s seemed like the ability to multitask has been regarded as a great skill, but is it really a good thing? Recovering from burn-out, one of the effects I noticed was that it was harder to concentrate, and especially tricky trying to focus on many things at once. I’d try to multitask, only to realise that all tasks suffered from lack of capacity to complete any one of them. The challenge is that the habit of always doing many things at once goes deep, and when I tried to focus on just one thing, I found that it was actually really difficult.  As I did a little google search on the matter, I found it seems like multitasking isn’t as healthy as once thought, and that it doesn’t help productivity. Some even referred to it as “switch tasking”, in the sense that the brain isn’t doing many things at once, but shifting rapidly...

My heart is full

I sat waiting for the train while drinking chocolate milk and eating what we call solbolle for lunch (which is a large cinnamon roll with custard in the middle). My heart was overflowing with gratitude and love, and such a deep sense of fellowship and “family”. I’d spent the morning drinking coffee at my old job at Crux , catching up with all the amazing people that make that fellowship and sense of togetherness what it is. Since many are fully vaccinated I got to give and receive quite a few good hugs. Hugs that communicate so much more than one can put into words. It was strange being back after 4.5 months, and yet it felt so very normal. Conversations on deeper levels, sharing victories and joys, and putting into words the good we see in each other, filled my heart until there was simply no more room. Waiting for the train it felt like my heart was overflowing. My new job is great. I love the team I work with, enjoy the challenges, and feel humbled by the privilege of being invited...