On a journey...

I am sitting here in a reasonably comfy and very stylish chair in the business lounge at Newark airport. Thanks to businessmen not doing a much business in the Summer, my inferior silver star alliance card gives me access to this little retreat from the general airport area. A lovely salad bar, free food and drink, good quality Earl Grey and free WiFi; just what is needed when you have many many hours of layover. Coming into the lounge it was almost empty, but now it’s filled up. I am struck by how most of the people are my people. The volume is comfortable and everyone is considerate and contained. I love loud and colourful Americans, but it’s funny how a mere airport lounge can give you a little glimpse into the ways of Scandinavian culture. I leave Kansas City feeling rested. I leave feeling so blessed by good friends and lots of good quality time. This time has been a gift. There were moments when I wondered what the purpose of the time even was, but I look back and realise th...

Most big change usually doesn’t happen from one day to the next. Most often it has a gradual component to it which allows our hearts and minds to come into alignment with what is happening. Yet, even if there is plenty of time to get used to the idea of change and transition, it still seems daunting and different. And some parts of it you can’t know until you are in the midst of it. I am sitting here looking out the window of my friend’s house onto her back garden. Outside it’s hot, inside the air conditioning creates a comfortable temperature which I am thankful for. My time here in Kansas City is quickly drawing to an end. It’s been so good. It’s been such a gift to in a sense press the “pause” button on decisions and plans and transitions, and just be. Only that. “Be”. Not easy when the past years have been so hectic, involving running hard all the time. It has taken some time to wind down. It’s amazing how the body seems to store up physical exhaustion which when sto...

It’s a good season. Transition is uncertain, but God is steadfast and He is with me. I just got back this week from an amazing conference with ICAP (International Christian Alliance on Prostitution) at the Green Lake Conference Centre in Wisconsin. It was beautiful. Being on a search for beauty I found so much beauty there. The surroundings were beautiful, but I think the beauty that met me most deeply was the beauty of God’s heart, and the beauty of those who have chosen to connect to His heart. As I listened to speakers who have lived lives of loving God and people so well, I found myself typing and writing down the wisdom they shared. Some were good reminders, and others were words that expressed loving people in a way I’d never contemplated before, and these words ministered to my heart. So I wanted to reflect on a few of those many nuggets and invite you to read along if you like. Loving people. “Jesus never met a prostitute.” I was kind of shocked by the statemen...

Seeking a place of being “careless”. Not because I don’t care, but because God takes my cares upon Himself. I have cast my cares upon Him because I know that He cares for me. And I trust in that care. Processing the last season. Thankful I never broke down. It was close, but I encountered sufficiency in His grace. God was enough and He gave me enough to make it through. It was sufficient. Sufficient meaning enough to fully meet the need. And what He gave me was sufficient. It was enough to sustain me. Thinking about it, it doesn’t look like wisdom. Exhausted, worn out, worried about so many things. Not the best starting point to plunge into another intense battle, leading the way. Arriving to lead the Shine Seminar my soul was so weary. Compassion is a gift, but it’s hard work. It requires risking and often living through rejection by the very ones you are trying so hard to show acceptance. It drains and involves the famous “give a hand and have the whole arm taken”. The...

Beauty. Two branches in full bloom. Different, yet the same. Flowers. Fragrance. Sweetness in the midst of darkness. One a clock in the night in Fortaleza, Brazil. Walking along the streets in their “Red Light District”. Arrested by the beautiful fragrance in a place with so much stench. A dark street carrying a treasure. Ten in the evening in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Visiting women on display in windows. Distracted by beauty and fragrance of a simple flower. Stopping to take it in. Places so incredibly different, yet so much alike. And in the midst of the fragrance I am reminded that the women are also treasures waiting to be found. Yet they were never lost by God who always sees them. Reminded to seek after beauty and not gaze on darkness. Transition. I’m in the midst of it and I wonder how to define it. I guess part is remembering. Remembering what has been. Processing. Thanking Him for what has passed. Remembering so that it can be released and I can st...

So many impressions and so much love in my heart as I sit here writing. My final evening in Amsterdam for this season. A strange and unreal sensation, but nevertheless the reality: tomorrow evening I fly home to Norway and finish the chapter of Amsterdam. It’s been an adventure and this past week has been such a good ending. Today I cycled across the city to have lunch with some dear friends. Friends I’ve met through ministry, one going out with me, the other on the receiving end. It was such a joy to enter into the home of one and meet as friends. Friends who have walked part of each other’s journeys. Friendship I hope lasts. On Friday we I went to my last outreach in the smaller Red Light District. It was good yet also hard. Hard to explain that “no, I am not coming back” to the questions of “yes, you go to Norway, but really, when will you be back.” Feeling so loved and yet having to accept the fact that I won’t be around next time... or the time after that. Finding so mu...

As I got on the plane from Fortaleza I felt such a sense of closure. It was like I had done exactly what I had come to do, and I was leaving at the exactly right time. My heart was full of peace, and even as I spent my layover in Lisbon (pretty much like a zombie; jetlagged, drinking tea, coffee, eating pastel de nata, and walking around to stay awake) the peace remained (and is still there). Boarding the plane to Amsterdam I had my action plan ready- sleep for the next 2-3 hours. However, as they scanned my boarding pass it beeped and they gave me a new one with the comment “you’ve been upgraded.” Such an awesome surprise, and of course I wasn’t going to sleep through nice food and good service. My cup of tea was even served in a ceramic cup with the tea bag on the side. I could get used to business class. Arriving in Amsterdam I was greeted by a good friend and rain. The city continues stunningly beautiful and it’s almost like this is the perfect time to wrap up. It’s been ...