Skip to main content

Breathtaking.


Tekoe is a tea shop at the airport in Geneva. I just landed and am having a wee cup of Earl Grey while waiting for my good friend Faith to arrive. I also got a croissant with tea extract which in my opinion is more of an interesting idea than anything  very extraordinary. It had some dark bits in it but apart from that it was pretty much a regular croissant, the good kind. Switzerland. Different language and currency. Not as many tall blond people around, and even at the airport it feels more chilled. I don't know how much I'll get to see and take in in just a weekend, but it's cool to be here.  As the plane was landing I saw mountains and it brought a moment of joy to my Norwegian heart that is usually surrounded by a vey flat Holland where finding even a hill is unusual. It is good for cycling of course, something I'm getting more skilled at in the sense of navigating around confuse tourists and I haven't hit anyone properly yet (and hope I never will). I was very tempted to take a whole bunch of photos through a slightly dirty train window as I travelled from Geneva to Bern, but I kept reminding myself that I would probably have ample opportunity to take much better ones later on. On arrival in Bern we were picked up by the lovely couple soon to be married, and our trek to the  car took us past a number of significant sights like the government building and bear park. Of course all well photographed and documented. The drive to the place we are staying was deep in the Swiss countryside (although I guess there is a limit to how deep you can get in a country this size). Along windy roads it seemed each scenic view was more spectacular than the last, and even with rain hitting the windscreen it made me in awe of the  beauty of creation. Sitting here on the veranda with fields and mountains in my view, I find it's almost breathtaking, and I can't help but worship my Creator. It's so calm and yet so majestic. And as the clouds clear more and more I look forward to the full view which should emerge with good weather tomorrow. And my lungs are happy to be filled with fresh mountain air for a change. So here I am. Tomorrow will be a full day of celebration. But for right now I think I'll just sit here for a bit and let the peaceful sound of sheep bells clinging and cows mooing, and beauty and the fresh air refresh my soul.

Popular posts from this blog

Packing...again.

I just folded the last load of laundry and I’m almost packed. Off to the airport at 5am tomorrow morning, heading off to Amsterdam. I’m excited, a bit nervous, and wondering what it’ll be like. It’s been a good week at home with lots of quality time with family, especially the little nieces and nephew. I’m glad I’ll see them in April again. Well, not much to write and packing to be done and a bit of sleep would probably be a good idea too. Next time I write it’ll be from Amsterdam....

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...

Walking through December: overcoming the challenge of language.

I just got done leading a Bible study in Spanish without a translation back-up, and it went really well. I am amazed at what we are actually able to do when we have no other option. It wasn’t a flawless flow of communication (that would have been a miracle), but together we figured out what I wanted to say. And I think it was good. I was blessed and they seemed blessed as well. The girls just left and I am sat here in my living room with the candles lit. It’s windy and rainy outside, and I am smiling. Happy. Not because I overcame the language challenge, but happy because of yet another beautiful time of bringing more of Jesus to the girls in our Bible study. I am thankful for the privilege of knowing them and standing with them in their journeys of knowing Jesus. And thankful that even when language is shaky, love is stronger and is communicated beyond mere words.