My Juggling Life

The End

2008-02-09T17:40:00.000+01:00

It seems like my blogging days are over. I made this blog to keep my friends informed what I'm up to. These days I do that through Facebook. BTW: I'm not homeless :D

You still never now. Maybe I'll write something in here sometime, if I feel like it.

Homeless

2007-07-11T16:30:00.000+02:00

At the moment I could be defined as homeless, even though I sleep nicely in someones guest bed. I quit the place I lived in the belief that I would find a nice place to live in Finland. My thought was to be a tourist in Finland in the summer and scout for a place to live. But at the moment I can't even find a place to visit in Finland as most of my friends there are travelling somewhere. So I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe, I was a bit fast with the quitting the apartment thing. Well, living a secure life seems to be boring, so....

Evangelising in Kristiansand

2007-07-11T16:16:00.001+02:00

We had some great days of evangelising in Kristiansand during the Quart Music Festival. People were really open to hear about Jesus. The day before the last day, God talked to us about expecting from Him. We decided to expect that 5 people would want to receive Jesus during the last day and prayed into that. Unfortunately I was away at a long planned job in Flekkefjord during the last day. Flekkefjord was a bit more deserted than I thought, I actually managed to get stuck there in the evening and missed my plane to Finland which was schedualed for the next day. I went to Kristiansand the next day and bumped into some of the others from the evangelising team on the bus back to Oslo. They told me that there were 6 persons that wanted to receive Jesus the day I was gone. So God gave more than we asked for, expected or believed.

Children at the Revival

2007-06-28T20:40:00.000+02:00

Be patient with this one. They haven't passed beginners class at filming or editing, but the content is amazing:

Very very very touching to see how God touches children.

Also read this post from Marc's blog:
God's Spirit on Children

Lately

2007-06-18T17:55:00.000+02:00

Well, I don't blog much these days. I just haven't felt like it :) Well, just to give you guys actually still caring to drop by this blog a little update... The biggest events lately have been:
- Hanna from Finland was in Norway for three weeks. We had some real Kingdom time together.
- Solbjørg and Stig's wedding. Finally they got married, and everything was perfect. Amazingly perfect.
- Paul, a prophet from Australia, was visiting. He prophesied about God rising up a hidden army in Norway.

Are You a Help Vampire?

2007-04-25T12:52:00.000+02:00

Today I read a article about help vampires on slash7.com

Some signs you can use to identify a help vampire in the field (extract from article):

Does he ask the same, tired questions others ask (at a rate of once or more per minute)?
Does he clearly lack the ability or inclination to ask the almighty Google?
Does he refuse to take the time to ask coherent, specific questions?
Does he think helping him must be the high point of your day?
Does he get offensive, as if you need to prove to him why he should use Ruby on Rails?
Is he obviously just waiting for some poor, well-intentioned person to do all his thinking for him?
Can you tell he really isn't interested in having his question answered, so much as getting someone else to do his work?

Read the full article here.

Norwegian Flag

2007-03-23T23:12:00.000+01:00

Today I made balloon decorations for a big event that will be tomorrow. I also made a Norwegian flag free of charge for the customer, simply because I wanted to. What does the Norwegian flag tell us? It has the colors red, white and blue in it - and it has a cross. In the simplest way possible it illustrates that a man died on a cross and shed his blood (red) so that we could be washed all clean and white from our sins. When He came to heaven He sent The Holy Spirit so that it could flow forth living water (blue) from all those who believe in Him - Jesus.

Picture: Norwegian flag - 8 * 6 feet (2.4 * 1.8 meter). Still in the production room, not on site.

Creative Evangelisation

2007-03-03T13:32:00.000+01:00

Today Hartvig from Open Air Campaigners were having a class in creative evangelisation for some young people. He asked if I could join him and I also had a very short (25 minutes) scratch course in creative evangelisation using balloons. I also got quite a few good ideas from listening to Hartvig teaching how to evangelise using sketchboard and gospel magic.

Annoying Evangelist

2007-03-01T23:56:00.000+01:00

I live in a block with several flats. Sometimes people ring on the doorbell outside, and when I answer, they ask if they can come inside and put commercial by all the doors. I always deny this request, of course, even though it seems like some other neighbour is letting this kind of people inside. Today the person ringing the outside doorbell, claimed he wasn't bringing commercial, but that he came with "a folder with important information". I was stupid enough to fall for this (I'm embarassed) and let him inside. I went down the hallway to meet him though, just to make sure he hadn't been lying - I was thinking that in worst case he could be a burglar of some sort. When I met him He gave me a tract/brochure, much like the ones christians use when they go around and try to make converts, also contentwise. I confronted him with with the fact that I in deed did consider this to be commercial, but he denied that it could be considered commercial and was like: "I really wanna talk with you", showing by body language and voice of tone that he really wanted to TELL ME SOMETHING and that he wanted to do it inside my apartment. I looked briefly at his eyes, but it was something with them that kind of freaked me out, so I just said that I wasn't interested (politely) and went inside and locked the door, while I could hear him objecting strongly to my desire of not being interested.

When I came inside I found that this guy claimed in the brochure that he had experienced something he called stigmata. He had been laying on a bed, and when he got up, he had gotten marks, much like those Jesus got when he got whipped. He wrote that he had received those because of his great dedication to God. He also bragged that he was the only one in Norway that had received that kind of thing. He had even included a picture. Personally I found the marks looking much like the ones you get when lying on a wrinkled sheet, but hey - that's just my opinion.

I thought I had got rid of the guy, but guess who came and rang on my door, even though I had already said I wasn't interested. And guess who put another brochure in between the door and the doorknob, even though he had already given me one. I didn't open the door, of course.

So... Go out and spread the gospel... And remember to show people respect while you do it. Always let a NO be a NO. Do you think Jesus ever tried to force people to follow Him?

Adam's Apples

2007-03-01T23:23:00.000+01:00

Today I watched an amazingly good danish movie named "Adams Æbler", that is "Adam's Apples" in English. The movie is about a priest that looks positively on everything he faces in life and always treats anyone who is bad towards him nicely. We also see in how strong a way this life additude affects people around him. No-one is untouched by the way he acts and treats people. It's also about.... Well. I don't wanna spoil it for you. Be aware that the movie is R-rated for violence... The priest is about to get his faith tested.

This movie is released as a comedy. It also gets good credit as a comedy. I guess I just don't have that kind of humour. I look seriously on this movie.

The Amazing Marjoe Gortner

2007-02-26T14:36:00.000+01:00

Today I surfed by a video of an evangelist that started preaching at the age of 4. He experienced lots of people being saved, healed, baptized in the spirit and shaking and falling under the "power". He preached for big audiences. In his late twenties he exposed that he was a fraud. He didn't believe in God and never had.

This video shows more of his tragic childhood:

More to read about Marjoe Gortner:
Wikipedia (gives a good overview on his life)
Interview with Marjoe (by Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman)
Resurrecting ‘Marjoe’ (by Sarah Kernochan)
Evangelism as Entertainment (by Robert M. Price)
Marjoe at IMDB (he became an actor after he stopped preaching)
Amazon.com (buy the documentary of his life on DVD)

Lessons From Contact Improvisation

2007-02-25T23:06:00.000+01:00

This evening I went to a contact improvisation jam. I danced with another person in a way, where I totally had to trust this person for balance all the time. In other words, I in myself were out of balance, but me and this person together were in balance. If this person would suddenly disappear, I would certainly fall. I think of this as a lesson in how to live my life, trusting God is always there.

In this kind of dancing, you have to be aware of the other person all the time, moving with the other person. I see this as a lesson in listening to God and moving with Him. When you dance like this, you form a unity. Both persons would fall and look stupid if the other person would disappear, but together you form a beautiful moving unity, a dance. I see this as a lesson in what it means to be one with Christ, and also what it means to be one with other Christ followers. In order to be one, we have to lean on and depend on eachother. If we "manage" by ourselves, we can never be one. When Jesus talked about us being one, I don't think He meant that just to be some kind of spiritual unseen reality that we can talk nicely about. I think He meant us to be dependent of eachother.

Awake

2007-02-25T15:16:00.000+01:00

Late yesterday evening I had Karl Anders, Anne Maria and Åse Marie over to my place for some pourage. Tor Arne also joined us after a while. Actually I suspect them for coming more for the company than for the pourage. We praised, prayed and talked and the night came... Then it was late night. Before we knew better it was early morning. But I have to say I had a great night, although I didn't sleep.

Campus Crusaders for Christ

2007-02-24T23:28:00.000+01:00

This evening me and Karl Anders visited Hartvig Kloster. He is the leader for Open Air Campaigners in Norway. It was very interesting to hear about their work. He obviously is a man with a passion to reach people for Jesus.

Marc and Karolien

2007-02-23T11:40:00.000+01:00

Marc and Karolien dropped by Oppsal (where I live) yesterday. Karl Anders, Anne Maria, Kjell Arne, Elsie and me had a good time together with them - until they left today. It was great to see Marc again, since I haven't seen him in a while. And it was also great to see his wife, Karolien, whom I had never met, but felt like I knew right away.

You can also read about it on:

Marc's blog: Reconnecting in Oslo

Picture shows (from left) Anne Maria, Elsie, Karolien, Kjell Arne, me and Karl Anders

Tomatoe Soup

2007-02-20T23:51:00.000+01:00

Today I thought I would try to make a tomatoe soup from the ground up, with REAL tomatoes. I was kind of surprised when I saw the colour, because it wasn't all red, like it would be with a package filled with artificial colour - like I'm used to. Thing is that even the picture that came with the recipy was fake, it showed the soup like really red. When I saw the colour, I caught myself thinking: Can this taste good? We are so used to artificial colour, that we have a hard time thinking a tomatoe soup can taste good if it hasn't got a strong red colour. And good it was. It's the best tomatoe soup I've ever tasted, beyond all my expectations. There is no going back after this. After tasting THE REAL THING, I don't think I will ever be able to go back to to the fake packages with a lot of chemicals, which they allow themselves to call basis for tomatoe soup.

Recipy (1 person):
- 3 tomatoes
- 1/2 onion
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1/4 liter vegetable broth (I used chicken broth, since that's what I had)
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basilikum
- 2 eggs

How to do it:
1) Boil some water, make sure the level of water in the pot is at least the height of a tomatoe. Dip the tomatoes for a few seconds in the boiling water, this makes it easier to remove the thin skin from the tomatoes. It should now be fairly easy to just peel the skin of with your fingers, make an opening with a knife if necessary to get a grip on the skin.

2) Put the eggs in the water and boil them for 8-10 minutes, while you continue to work on the soup.

3) Chop the half onion in small pieces and fry it lightly in the oil. When I say lightly, I mean lightly. It should be a bit soft afterwards, but it shouldn't be brown and it should still have kind of strong taste to it. Put simply: Don't fry it so long that all the taste disappears.

4) Cut the skinned tomatoes in boats and put them in a pot together with the onions and the vegetable broth. Give it a boil (it doesn't need any boiling time) and give it a go in the blender or use an immersion blender till there are no big pieces left. It's OK that there are small onion bites that you can chew a little on, it really adds to the soup.

5) Add pepper and salt till you are satisfied with the taste.

6) There should be enough soup for 2 medium sized plates. Chop 1 boiled egg in pieces for each plate and add half of the chopped basilikum. Decorate with some basilikum leaves on top.

Public Transport Valentine

2007-02-14T23:00:00.000+01:00

Today I was gonna deliver a romantic balloon bouquet for a customer. Normally I either borrow a car, use a transport company, or even taxi to do this. It's always best to deliver the bouquet personally though - I don't expect any transport company to do that in a professional way. Delivering a balloon bouquet is a whole lot more than handing it over, delivering a balloon bouquet is a happening. If you do it in the right way, you also get some really good advertising for your company.

Today I got the idea to do something new, why not use public transportation delivering the bouquet? When I thought of it, there really wasn't any good reason why not. And it was really a happening. If you have ever wondered what it feels like to get looooong stares from all surrounding or passing girls.... If you ever wondered what it feels like to have girls flocking and leaning out of windows calling for you.... Try walking around with a romantic balloon bouquet in a big city. Here in Oslo celebritys can walk around relatively unnoticed compared to this. The height point was of course to deliver it to the surprised man, getting one more confirmation of his wifes love.

Pasta Heaven

2007-02-13T21:53:00.000+01:00

Today I thought I would try making dinner using organic spelt spaghetti. I had bought one of those boxes with tomato purée and thought I would make sauce for the meat with it, but then I got the idea that I could make my own tomato purée, since I had bought too many tomatoes. Long story short: The result was fantastic. Usually I put a lot of ketchup on the spaghetti, but this time it tasted incredible without. And the sauce basically just consisted of tomatoes and spices.

Tomato purée: Chop tomatoes in pieces and boil for 45 minutes on low temperature with a lid on. You don't need to add water, the tomatoes contain a lot of water. At least with the kind of pot I have, you don't need to stir. You can use the time for other stuff. Put it in a blender (I paid like 40 Euros for mine, they're worth it) for a few seconds and let it go through a strainer. Now you are supposed to cook it till it is thick enough and add salt, pepper and sugar for taste. Do yourself a favour: Skip the sugar - you eat enough of that thing already. Actually I skipped the second cooking too (so I didn't actually make purée, more like tomato sauce) and just added salt and pepper and fried it together with the meat. You can freeze what you don't eat right away.

Organic Prayer Breakfast

2007-02-13T21:36:00.000+01:00

Yesterday me and Karl Anders went shopping at "Smart Club" in Oslo, a gigantic store that sells groceries and cars, and a lot of other stuff too. We went there on a hunt for organic food. Being a "Rema 1000" shopper I have hardly seen organic food, besides organic milk. They had an own section in the store, with hundreds of different organic products.

Well home I found that organic oranges are better than any other orange I've tasted. The same went for the apple.... And the banana (was fairtrade too). A little more expensive, but worth a lot more.

This morning me and Karl Anders had an organic prayer breakfast, proud of our new tasty groceries. Karl Anders had also bought an organic bread called "Profeten Esekiel Brød" (English: "Prophet Ezekiel Bread"). It's a bread made by a recipy God gave to a prophet named Ezekiel in the Bible. He was supposed to live quite long only on that kind of bread, so it's supposed to contain most of what the body needs. But the real surprise was the taste - I didn't know bread could taste that good. If that kind of bread is available to you: RUN AND BUY IT!!! (It's available at "Smart Club" in Oslo).

Visit From Finland

2007-02-10T14:48:00.000+01:00

This week I have a Finnish dancer/actor visiting. It's always inspiring to hang around creative people, especially the Finnish ones. Talking with him I have realised more how close link there is with dancing and acting. Since I do a lot of acting myself, maybe I should pick even more inspiration from dancing. He recommends basically everyone to try Contact Improvisation (dance form), so I'll just write it here as a note to myself: I should try that sometime.

This is a video I found on YouTube. It shows a contact improvisation piece. Personally I think this is pretty beautiful (be aware of bad cutting though - nothing really happens the first 30 seconds or so):

Nutrition and Organic Food

2007-02-10T02:01:00.000+01:00

I recently read a book about nutrition. Quite shocking really to see how dangerous the modern junkfood diet really are. I have seen the "Supersize Me" movie, but still... It was also encouraging to read about all the benefits of a healthier diet, and also some advice how to do it. I will just have to take one step at a time, but I already started up drinking the juice freshly squeezed, as it is healthier that way. I have also found that it is much better. I am now looking for places I can buy more types of organic vegetables. It's really shocking to read how much poison there are in non-organic veggies. Why is it that people are willing to risk their own lifes and the state of our planet just to get some percent cheaper food? If people knew more about this, there would be an enormous demand for organic food.

Whooping Cough

2007-02-10T01:36:00.000+01:00

The last month I have had whooping cough (Norwegian: "kikhoste"). It's also called the 100 day cough, because it's littery very common that this thing lasts that long. Luckily I feel better now, although far from well. The worst thing about it is that sometimes after a cough, it's impossible to breath for a while. I just have to wait till it opens up again. Sometimes I sound extremely astmatic or like a dying person, when I crampily grasp for air, because I used my air coughing and my air supply has gone tight. Kind of cool sound :) Coughing till I puke is a somewhat less funny experience - it's so messy :( Luckily I found a trick to avoid it: Just hold that last cough before it happens. Hold it long enough for the body to stabilize, before you allow the coughs to come again. You'll have to be sensitive about the timing and very determined about holding that cough no matter what.

I'm lucky. I read stories on the net about people having this cough that had broken ribs coughing and that had major problems sleeping at night.

Having Fun With Young People

2007-02-09T14:21:00.000+01:00

Today I entertained some young people at a club named "Trosterud Fritidsklubb". There are some really nice pictures on their webpage. Yesterday there was an article about my coming show in a local inlay in the national newspaper named "Aftenposten". This inlay was distributed all over Groruddalen (150 000 people).

We had a lot of fun together at the club. The demand for more balloons are never decreasing.

Picture: I took a photo of the newspaper article.

Child Planet

2006-12-17T23:47:00.000+01:00

Today I entertained in a birthday party at Child Planet. Afterwards I talked a while with the visionary leader of the Child Planet concept. It was very interesting to hear about her philosophy and vision. They have a kindergarden where they really aim for quality in everything they do. They have even hired a professional cook to make the food for the children and spent a million norwegian crowns (120 000 Euro) on a professional kitchen. The inside playground for the children looked very tempting, even for big kids like me. Doctors have stated that children that attend this kindergarden develop motorics sooner than most other children. They arrange birthday parties with different themes and menues and a price per child. The leader had got several offers on spreading her concept on a broad scale, but she wanted to develop quality at all levels even more before she wanted to spread it. She emphasized the need of leadership training and that everyone in the organisation really grasps the vision.

Christmas Party

2006-12-16T23:38:00.000+01:00

Today I was in a Christmas party at Frode's place on Tøyen. It was cool to hang out with some friends. The hightpoint was when Tor Arne started to play some praise songs on the guitar.

More pictures on Frode's blog on the post named "Julefest"

Grand Salut

2006-12-13T23:57:00.000+01:00

Today I had a small fireworks show just by a school, where the kids had a christmas party. I used a battery named "Grand Salut", which lasts for about two minutes. The video shows the last 45 seconds. Enjoy.

He Raised Me Up

2006-12-11T23:52:00.000+01:00

Recently I have had the song "You Raise Me Up" on my mind. For me it's impossible to think of anything but Jesus when I hear this song.

Today while I was working, walking around in clowning clothes in an electronics store and making balloon-figures, this song was played on the speakers which could be heard all over the store. Not only once, but like once every twenty minutes/half hour or so through the whole 5 hours I worked there. I guess they had a short play list on repeat. I felt so blessed, Jesus telling me in this way that He is with me wherever I go.

You can download a cool video with this song here (from the website: www.fireonthealtar.com).

The lyrics go like this:

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

The picture shows the front of the CD "Closer" by Josh Groban, featuring one of the most known of many versions of this song. Original music was written by a norwegian composer named Rolf Løvland. Original lyrics was written by Brendan Graham.

Jesus Revolution

2006-12-10T23:56:00.000+01:00

Today I was in Jesus Church where Stephan Christiansen shared about having dreams and passions, living for something bigger than your daily worries. He shared some of his passion for reaching the lost in Europe. There was also a release of a new Jesus Revolution CD, and the Jesus Revolution team, that will tour Europe with a show and preach about Jesus, had their first public showing of the show they have drilled on for months. Stephan funnily said that this is the first time they perform it for anyone else than the mirror. Stephan said that this far 80 000 people throughout Europe have watched a show by Jesus Revolution and 3500 of those have received Jesus.

Elisabet's Birthday

2006-12-09T23:37:00.000+01:00

In the early evening I entertained with balloons in a fun little birthday party with only kids that probably had a good upbringing. They all behaved very nice. Some of them recognised me from Stena Line, the boat I worked on for a week. Two of the small girls almost wouldn't let me leave, telling everything about themselves and asking lots of questions. It was quite fun, because they looked surprised when I told them that an entertaining magician doens't really perform magic, but just uses tricks. I thought six and seven year old kids knew that. Let's hope I didn't ruin their day ;)

In the late evening I entertained in Elisabet's birthday, a girl I met in Jesus Church. She just started to go there, moving from Sweden. When I prayed about how to do my performance, I didn't get anything at first, so I thought I would just use my standard show - kind of treating the audience as kids, although they were all passed 20. I also thought it would be a good idea to dress up Elisabet as a princess with balloons. Just before I started I got from Jesus that I should arrange some kind of prayer for Elisabet during my performance. So after I had given Elisabet a princess crown, princess wings, princess rod, skirt, necklace and even more stuff, I said I would perform magic and make her really fly. I waved the rod and said "magic words", but the only thing that happened was that a "bomb" of confetti was released all over the room. I concluded that I couldn't make her lift from the ground, but with Jesus she could fly. And then I said that we should all surround her in prayer.

Picture 1: This picture shows Elisabet kiss prince charming, who I made for her later in the evening long after the show. He's pretty big, so you only see his face on the picture.

Picture 2: We're getting ready for karaoke. The boys and the girls had a duel on Singstar on Playstation.

Back To Oslo

2006-12-08T23:40:00.000+01:00

Since my last blog entry I have spent more time with family and friends in Ålesund. Yesterday evening I got on the bus back to Oslo.

Today I have tried to manage with the few hours of sleep I had on the bus. This evening I entertained in a birthday party with only boys. Those birthdays are often pretty demanding. I wonder: Does it ever happen in a rock consert that someone crawls up on the stage to steal the electric guitar of the star? Some of this boys actually crawled up on stage because my clowning equipment looked too tempting.

This evening was the first time I entertained using a magic routine as a part of the show.

Christmas Cakes

2006-12-05T23:48:00.000+01:00

Today I hung out at my sister Else's place. I made christmas cakes together with Else and my nephews Marcus and Glenn. In the evening I watched a movie together with Else, my nephew Christoffer and his girlfriend Annette.

More Rest

2006-12-04T23:44:00.000+01:00

Today I slept like half the day. In the evening I hung out at my sister Elin's place.

Visiting Per Arne

2006-12-03T23:50:00.000+01:00

Today I joined my sister Elin and her husband Svein, visiting Per Arne and his wife. It was so good to be there, because me and Per Arne prayed a lot together for a few years when I was newly saved. I learned a lot from him and he always prayed for my sisters and for Svein, and he always asked me how they were doing. Now they have all experienced Jesus in their life.

Resting With Family And Friends

2006-12-02T23:37:00.001+01:00

Today I spent most of the day relaxing with family. In the evening I also visited my friend Nikko.

Yamaha TZR

2006-12-01T23:38:00.000+01:00

Today I drove my 15 year old nephew Christoffer and three of his friends to Fosnavåg, a place outside of Ålesund on the west coast of Norway. He came there to look on a moped. The moped, a Yamaha TZR 2003, was exceptionally well kept. The girl who owned it for the last two years have hardly been driving it. It was storm on the way there, so I said a silent prayer inside and asked for nicer weather on the way back, because I felt sorry for Christoffer's friend, who was gonna drive his bike back. Luckily the weather was much better, when we happily returned with the bike.

What's Up With The Rain

2006-11-30T23:59:00.000+01:00

This was a day all things seemed to go wrong. This evening I was gonna take the night bus to Ålesund, something that was very important for my nephew Christoffer who lives there, because I was gonna drive him somewhere tomorrow and help him buy a moped. This evening I had a four hour clown show and I had a lot of things I had to do before leaving Oslo. To save time, I borrowed Karl Anders’ car. If I knew what would happen next, I would definitely drive by public transportation instead. And if I had heard the radio warning that the roads were VERY slippery on this day… And if I had understood after my FIRST crash that the reason was slippery roads… On the way to my job, I wasn’t able to stop for a woman that suddenly stopped for a man crossing the road. I didn’t understand what I had done wrong. I felt that I had done everything right, but it still happened. Luckily I barely hit her. I crashed the glass for my left blinker and I just might have made a stripe or two in the paint on her rear bumper. Next time I crashed, it was like the brakes didn’t work at all and I bumped my left wheel into an edge in the middle of the road. It wasn’t like I had a lot of speed, and it wasn’t like I bumped really hard into it. Everything could have been good, but the wheel started leaking. I parked at the first possibly place I could find and tried to phone for a taxi, but couldn’t get through. While I tried to get through, I was walking to find the name of the street I had parked and I met a lady that showed me a way I could drive, avoiding the motor road. So I tried to get there while the tire was still leaking. I easily found the right area, which wasn’t far away, but I had a problem getting to the right building, so I decided to park the car and try to find it on foot. I put all my small money, about 5 Euro, on the parking meter and found that it wasn’t enough for the whole time I was staying there. I knocked on the windshield of a car just by and changed with a man in the car, getting 5 Euro more in small money. It just took a minute. When I came back to the machine, it had swallowed my money and refused to return them - so I was back to where I started. I started to be in a hurry reaching my job by now, even though I always calculate lots of extra time in case something happens… So I said a silent prayer I wouldn’t get fined (and thought about how badly I would sue them if I got) and decided to walk fast, but not run for my job. At first I didn’t recognise the place I was at all, and I forgot to pay close attention to where I had parked, because I was so set on trying to find out where I should walk. By now I had given up on getting there by time, but I still did. Problem was when I was going back to the car. I used so long time in looking for it, that I gave up my hope on reaching the night bus to Ålesund. After I gave up and kind of just walked around, it took 2 minutes before I found the car. Funnily effective to give up on something… So I changed to spare tire and drove home. When I got home I called a taxi, since I didn’t have time to drive by public transportation to Oslo Central Station. My bus was leaving at 10:00 PM. I called at 9:20 PM and ordered the Taxi for 9:35 PM, which left me with 15 minutes to pack for my trip, so I set a new personal record of packing for a week of travel. At 9:37 PM I stood outside the house, wondering why the Taxi hadn’t arrived. At 9:40 PM I called the Taxi company and found that they had put me up with a car for 9:35 AM tomorrow morning. Amazing!!! I asked them to send a car ASAP. I was thinking that if the car didn’t arrive by 9:45, I could just forget about it. At 9:45 the Taxi came. I told the driver that if he wasn’t able to get me there in time, he could just forget about this trip. He arrived at 9:54. While paying, he told me that he did racing on a pretty high level. Surely the right man for the job. But thing is that at one point getting there, he lost control of the car, slipping like crazy. He complained about how odd it was that the roads could get so incredible slippery at plus 7 degrees Celsius. Even though they were wet, it was just too much. I made a joke about the water being mixed with oil. A joke he took deadly serious, saying: “Well, it has to be something!”. This man was used to racing, and he was amazed by it… So my question is: What’s in the water? Maybe some environmental experts should run a test the next time the roads get like crazily slippery for no apparent reason. On the way to the bus, I was stopped by a man asking if I wouldn’t like to drive a car up to Ålesund. He said that I would get the trip and food and everything for free. He even said I would do him a big favour. I asked Jesus, but felt like: “No”. I guess the days experiences with driving didn’t make me too happy with the thought either, although it was tempting to get the trip for free. Two minutes before the bus was leaving, I left the desperate man and got on my ride to Ålesund. What a day!!!

Using My Space

2006-11-29T23:54:00.000+01:00

Today I worked a lot. I planned a few jobs for December and January and prepared for a job I will do tomorrow. Luckily I could come home to Karl Anders for a couple of hours in the afternoon and relax with Bible and prayer together with a few friends.

In the evening I removed a sleeping couch from my room and put in a real bed instead, that I have borrowed. In the process I had to remove A LOT of stuff I had stacked under and at both ends of the sleeping couch, trying to make as good use of the space as possible, since I practically live and have my office all in a small room. After putting in the bed, I was happy when I found that there are exactly enough space to put a bookshelf at the end of the bed if I put it so the books face the bed (see picture). I won't be able to access the lower part of the shelf, but it's still great, and the shelf will be exactly as wide as the closit.

Magic and Superheroes

2006-11-28T23:50:00.000+01:00

Today I got a visit from my magician friend. He showed me some really cool magic routines I plan to incorporate in my clown show. I would have thought it would be harder to do magic, but I'm already starting to get the hang of it. I need to train more to get it really flowing, but I was so excited by all the stuff I learned that I was kind of hyped by the time he left. Solbjørg dropped by right after, and she thought I was stressed, but I was just so excited that I could hardly sit still.

Afterwards Karl Anders, Solbjørg and me went together to IKEA, where I bought a new bookshelf. I will use it to expand my balloon storage system.

The picture shows a hat I made for my flatmate Tor Arne in the late evening, as he is attending a "hat party" (everyone will wear strange hats) on his bible school tomorrow. The figure on the hat illustrates Spiderman with a machine gun, which again illustrates that Tor Arne is a powerful superhero in Jesus :)

Day at Home

2006-11-27T23:38:00.000+01:00

I woke up kind of late today, as I wasn't sleepy last night and ended up being awake pretty late. I didn't feel too good when I woke up, so I wondered how I should start the day. I ended up with the idea that I could pray in tongues for a while. After praying in tongues for a couple of hours I found that I continued to pray in tongues inside the rest of the day, no matter what I was doing.

I had a pretty unsocial day today, doing all those small things that needs to be done. I sorted personal papers, did laundry, sorted music collection, made room for a new bookshelf I plan to buy and stuff like that.

Salvation Army to India

2006-11-26T23:35:00.000+01:00

Today I had a workshop on balloon figure tying and creative evangelisation for 8 young evangelists from The Salvation Army in Oslo. They are going to India to do welfare work and evangelisation. They plan to use creative means such as balloons to come across the language barrier.

Roaming Oslo

2006-11-25T23:41:00.000+01:00

This evening I roamed the streets of Oslo with some friends.

Norwegian Army Rising

2006-11-24T23:57:00.000+01:00

Today I prayed with some friends for a couple of hours. There were such an incredible anointing. We prayed for national issues and I really got so much faith in how God will move in this nation. He is rising up something new, something from the grassroot. There is a baby about to come. Let's pray it will survive and grow strong.

Jesus is raising up an army in this nation with a clear prophetic flow. An army that preaches His word clearly, without compromise. An army that will go wherever He leads. This will not happen through our organisations and structures and in the forms and programs we have made. This will happen in a way that it will be clear that it was a work of God. This army will refuse to be bound and controlled in any way. The soldiers in this army will be totally non-religious. Most of them don't know Jesus yet. Many of them are still bound in all kind of ways and have big inner wounds, but they will look up to Jesus, be set free and healed and filled with a joy that will be a testimony to many. In their footprints there will be great healing and refreshment.

Some of the soldiers are about to rise, but are still alone with their passion to follow Jesus. We must pray that they find eachother and form communities with a Jesus lifestyle. Pray that groups of people that are whole-hearted for Jesus will form all over Norway. It's a prayer according to His heart.

Kjetil Having Fun

2006-11-23T23:45:00.000+01:00

Today I went shopping with Solbjørg. Afterwards we met with Kjetil and went to a coffee shop at Grønland (east side of Oslo), where we relaxed with our cups of something hot and something luke warm and assembled one Kinder Egg each. Kjetil had a lot of fun playing with his Kinder toy:

Lapsi

2006-11-22T23:20:00.000+01:00

Today I got a surprise visit from a professional magician. He learned me a card trick and gave me some ideas for a magic routine I can use in my clown show. He promised to come back later and learn me more. Nice. I learned him some juggling and to make a safari tiger with balloons. How fun life can be. Two adult guys playing around for hours with balloons, juggling balls and cards, forgetting about time and place.

All the time while we were playing I had a CD named "Lapsi" by Anni Hagström playing in the background. At one point the CD ended, and my friend told me that I had to put back on that amazing CD. It's all instrumental and so filled with the presence of Jesus. Anni handpaints all the covers herself. I don't know if it can be acquired anywhere but in Finland. I bought my copy in the Metro Church in Kuopio. This CD is such a blessing for me that I would have liked the whole world to hear it. Maybe I should buy some extra copies next time I'm in Finland.

Picture: Handpainted CD front of "Lapsi" by Anni Hagström.

His Dream

2006-11-21T21:32:00.001+01:00

Today while working on a price list for the services my company offers, iTunes came to a track in my music library that really caught my attention. I had it on repeat for a long time and transcribed it this evening. The track is called "His dream" and is from a CD by Peter Helms & Rene Piet (Recabite Band) named "Land of Promise". The spoken lyrics go like this:

I will light in your heart a lamp of understanding
I will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation
so that you may know my dream for you

I want you to understand the riches of my glory
which is your inheritance
I want you to experience my power as you believe
I will restore all that has been lost
I came that you may have life full of vitality
a fresh godlife so powerfull that you will be
lifted above your present circumstances
A life so overflowing that it will lift others
wherever you go
A life so excessive that the only explanation
is my favour on you and my grace within you
A life so superior that every devil and demon
will flee from you as you walk in my ways

Therefore today as you hear my voice
harden not your heart
Seek me first above all else
Lift your eyes because I will do far more
than you could ever imagine or guess or
request in your wildest dreams

In those days everyone did what was right
in his own eyes
No king
A famine in the land
Joy turned to mourning
Hope to despair
Their song a complaint
Disease in exchange for health
Life to death
No bread in the breadhouse
They entered the land of leftovers

I really felt God speak to me through most of this. The last part I understand as a testimony of how life might be, while the rest show how God wants it to be. WOW!!!

I also had Karl Anders over for dinner today. We had a nice time of talking, eating and prayer.

Who Framed Pondus?

2006-11-20T23:58:00.000+01:00

I came back to Oslo by bus this morning. In the evening I got a visit by Rosalind. It wasn't a special occasion, but she still brought me a present. She had taken a stripe from a comic named Pondus, put it in a frame and packed it inside some nice wrapping paper. The stripe shows Pondus bribe off a police officer with a balloon figure after being caught for speeding. This really opens my eyes for new possibilities. I should always have balloons on me from now on. I can tape a couple to my drivers license.

Stig was kind enough to send me a link to this Pondus stripe:
Pondus i Dagbladet 17/11-06

Swedish Connection

2006-11-19T23:38:00.000+01:00

Today there were a gathering where anointing oil from the different nations was mixed as a symbol of the anointings of the different nations coming together. Afterwards everyone was prayed for using the oil. I had kitchen duty during this session, but even I was prayed for, as someone came to the kitchen to pray for us who were there.

It has been a good gathering, reminding me quite a bit of the Connect Europe gatherings I have attended. Most of the people who came here was also relation-oriented more than structure-oriented and emphasized the need of community and prayer and having Jesus as the center of everything they do in life.

It was also a huge prayer answer to get some contact with the Swedish. And it's always lovely to get more friends from other countries.

Picture: Magdalena (Sweden) and Anne Maria (Norway).

The Örebro Legacy

2006-11-18T23:12:00.000+01:00

Today Petra made me aware that the gathering we are on now is exactly two years after a gathering in Örebro in Sweden, where a few Finns, Norwegians and Brydon from Shetland met and called forth the Swedish people in prayer. We prayed for connections between the nordic countries, especially for the Swedish connection. This happened on the weekend of week 46 in 2004. Now on the weekend of week 46, two years, later we are a bunch of Finns and Swedish people, two norwegians and a few people from other nations gathered here in Stockholm in Sweden.

Today we had a very strong session where the Finns and the Swedish people asked for forgiveness for past sins against eachother. Then the Finns were prayed for. God really moved and touched people there.

Today we also had group discussions about different questions. Afterwards the different groups shared some of their thoughts in the bigger fora involving everyone.

Gathering in Stockholm

2006-11-17T23:55:00.000+01:00

Today me and Anne Maria travelled together to Stockholm to a family gathering for the 24/7 prayer network. There are about 70 people coming, mostly from Finland and Sweden. I'm looking forward to get some Swedish friends and more Finnish friends.

We arrived kind of late in the evening, but I still had time to meet some new Finns (not new like they were born yesterday, but like I haven't seen them before).

Picture: Me after a few hours of travel. I'm obviously too tired to make a funny face, which make this picture a rare collectible.

IKEA Get Together (And Never Leave)

2006-11-16T23:29:00.000+01:00

Today I had a photosession with confirmation youth in Oppsal Church. The photos will be used for prayer cards for the intercessors and for a photocollage that will hang in the Church.

In the evening I went shopping at IKEA. I ran into Elsie and Kjell Arne there, so we sat and talked a little in IKEA couches surrounded by IKEA furniture, giving kind of a livingroom feeling. Maybe we should start having gatherings at IKEA? It was actually quite nice.

When I was leaving IKEA, I was stupid enough to follow the signs, which made me go in a circle. I took an extra round, just to be sure that it was really so that those signs that are supposed to tell where the exit are, lead people in a circle and never to the exit. I guess someone working at IKEA really wants me there, but I'm now smart enough to overlook the signs and find the way out by myself.

Picture: Kjell Arne and Elsie relaxing in IKEA furniture.

Get Together

2006-11-15T23:57:00.000+01:00

Today I had an effective day in my office. I also dropped by the wednesday prayer meeting in the church right next to my house. Strange thing with those prayer meetings in "church buildings". There can be a clear flow in how it is prayed, but still something is missing. I think this "something" might be the intimate and relaxed feeling you get when you meet in a home.

In the early evening I visited Karl Anders. Grete and Toggy was also there. We ate soup and shared from our life's and prayed for eachother.

Afterwards I visited Åse Marie. I hadn't seen her in quite a while, so it was good to get an update what is going on in her life and pray together.

Picture: Karl Anders, Grete and Toggy.

Office Day 2

2006-11-14T23:37:00.000+01:00

Today I was also mostly in my office getting a ton done (my to-do list is still growing). In the evening I visited Karl Anders for a few hours, just to make sure I didn't rot in my office - before I continued to work. I was thinking of sleeping, but I had put some stuff on my bed that I was gonna work with. In stead of just throwing it away and say: "Some time later", I worked my way to this nights sleep... Still not there, but much closer. Just had to post before midnight...

Office Day

2006-11-13T23:44:00.000+01:00

Today I was home all day. Just went out to send some letters. The rest of the time, I mostly did office work. So I got a ton done. Only sad that my to-do list never seems to shrink. It's longer now than when the day started, since I was reminded during the day of more things that I should do.

Usually I like things to happen all the time, but sometimes I love these all home days when I just get stuff done.

Spiritual Pioneers

2006-11-12T23:25:00.000+01:00

Today I got very inspired hearing Johannes Amritzer talk about being spiritual pioneers and explorers. He shared stories from His own life where Jesus had lead him to go places where there were almost no christians, just a lot of mosks. And he had started to consult people and pray for the sick and seen Gods power. He talked about being hungry for God and never satisfied with status quo. He also said that it is on time that people stop being charismatic robots and start listening to the Spirit on the inside and follow Him. I kind of saw that last one to match up with one of my recent posts named "Vision of Jesus".

He also mentioned a years old prophesy about a mighty army of spiritual vikings that would arise in the north. So... Men of Norden: ARISE!!!

Safari Tiger

2006-11-11T23:44:00.000+01:00

Today when I was just gonna prepare for a clown job, I got a phone call from someone wanting a balloon bouquet for a girl becoming 30 years young. I didn't know if I was able to squeeze it in, but somehow I felt like doing it. It could have become stress, but I had fun with it and I had some really cool new balloons I wanted to use.

I also made a Safari Tiger, which held the bouquet in his hands. Unfortunately I forgot to take photos, having just 10 minutes to pack for the next job. To please my lucky readers, I made a new Safari Tiger and took a photo of it this evening. It is a common design, but I made my first one today, and I think it is sooo cool.

Photo: Safari Tiger. This one lacks ears, as I am out of glue.

Quote

2006-11-10T13:57:00.000+01:00

I like to make quotes, those small sentences that say an hour of talking with just a few words, but that also require people to think for themselves. Usually I don't share them, but my quote for today are:

Either we have religion, or we have revival.

The whole point now is that I will NOT explain what I mean with this, and you can think for yourself. I would like to state that I define revival as christians coming into a close relationship with Jesus. Awakening I call it when people who have never known Jesus, start following Him. The rest you can figure out for yourself.

Today I was also thinking about the great pride of the western church. We have an additude of having all the answers - and the rest of the world should learn from us and be like us. We have programs for church growth and programs for anything really. We know how a church should function and be organised. There is always a book on the subject, written by some western fellow. And we have all the great prophets and great speakers that really have seen visions from God and publish books and share it with the world. Yea, all the great prophets seem to be born in the west.

But do we realise that we have been born in utter darkness and live in utter darkness? Do we realise that Europe spiritually speaking is the darkest continent in the world? Do we realise that the church always follow after the rest of the world? When the society change their view on some moral question, the church usually follows after a few years. We think we have light. We point towards "those other people - those dreadful sinners of the world". We point and say: "We are better, we have light, what they do - we do not do". A few years later, we do the same. And we twist a little on how we see those things from the scriptures. Once upon a time when this was seen upon as a sin by the church, but we now know better. Because we always think that we are moving in the right direction. For some reason we always think that we have more light today than hundred years ago. We are developing, you know.

The thing is that there are other places in the world where there is light. There are places in the world where lots of people come to faith, where christians dedicate their lives in serving Jesus, even thou they know they can be killed for their faith. So I wonder... Where are the chinese prophets and the african prophets and what have they got to learn us?

Vision of Jesus

2006-11-09T16:34:00.000+01:00

This morning I was having my scheduled 1 hour morning Bible and prayer thing. Just after I had started praying, I saw a crystal clear vision of a man hasting towards me (He was not running, but still going fast in an elegant way, almost like he was floating above the ground). He held his right hand straight out with the palm of the hand facing me. He wasn't shouting, but still saying in a strong and authoritative way: "Stop". I could not see his feet, but on the upper body he was wearing a kings clothing. He had some sort of royal jacket. It had many details, which I could see clearly, but that became dim afterwards. But I can say that it was more beautiful and more royal than any kings clothing I have ever seen. It was looking modern and had a soft fabric. I remember that there were fabrics of red and that there were elements of gold in the clothing. Otherwise I can no longer remember the details.

I first started to wonder if there were some hidden sins in my life, that Jesus wanted to show me, so I could stop doing them. But then I understood that "stop" in general meant just that: "Stop with everything"... Jesus wants me to stop doing so many things and spend time together with Him.

Naturally I ended up using some extra time with Jesus this morning. After a while I understood that this message is not only for me, but also for the church in general in the west:

All the church programs, stop doing them.
All the methods, stop trying them.
My people, just draw close to me.
I AM the way.

Balloon Workshop

2006-11-08T16:21:00.000+01:00

Today I had a balloon twisting group for young people where I live. Daniel, Eirik and Jannike came - and Karl Anders also joined. Afterwards I hung out and had interesting conversations with Karl Anders.

My Inbox

2006-11-07T23:18:00.000+01:00

Today I took a deep dig in the overwhelming paper bunch in my company inbox, where I put all my paperwork till it's done. I found receipts from February this year. This might be a good time to evaluate my routines.

Redeeming Love

2006-11-06T15:39:00.000+01:00

I recently finished a book by Francine Rivers named "Redeeming Love". Through this book the author shares lots of insight in the love of Jesus and why it can be so hard for people to receive it. I read the norwegian version "Ufattelig Kjærlighet". Even in norwegian, the book is almost flawless - very little that reveals it's a translation.

I made a bracelet (and I'm very proud)

2006-11-05T23:51:00.000+01:00

Today I did one hour of clowning somewhere right outside of Oslo. That took like most of the day, counting the time it took to prepare, use public transportation to and from, changing clothes and buffer time in case of transport delays or other unforeseen things (an artist just can't be late... think of all those sad kids). And some people think artists make a fortune because we charge a lot for one hour...

Afterwards I was at Jesus Kids in the center of Oslo. Maria and I had hobby activities with some of the children. I made a bracelet. Sorry children, I forgot you were there, being consumed with my art.

Afterwards we all had praise, drama, competitions, bible memorising and stuff like that. After we finished one mother told me that her son had been really eager to leave home, asking when Jesus Kids would start.

More Bad Excuses

2006-11-04T23:45:00.000+01:00

Today I was caught by the presence of Jesus in the morning. It might sound like a bad excuse or something, but for a few hours I wasn't able to work, just to pray. This whole day was kind of special, because there was one prayer burden that haunted me all day. I tried to pray for other things, but Jesus kept pulling me back to pray for the same thing. I also felt quite hard attacked spiritually when I was weary after entertaining in a birthday party. They always try to get you when you look weak. I guess the attack was some sort of counterattack because of what I was praying for.

Lazy Office Rat

2006-11-03T23:39:00.000+01:00

Today I planned to do office work, but still felt weary after the previous hard days of showbiz, so I took some resting time in the morning and started to clean around the house, which was also needed. And cleaning around the house is lighter work than doing company paperwork, if anyone wonders.

I also had time to pray with Anne and some other friends. We pray together every friday, but I have been travelling and working on fridays for the last... Long time. And these prayer meetings are so incredible encouraging and in such a good flow, so I love it when I make it.

Come Together

2006-11-02T23:30:00.000+01:00

Today I had a resting day, since I have now worked seven days in a row. I felt quite weary yesterday evening. Showbusiness ain't like any other business for sure. It drains you of all the energy you could possibly have.

This evening I also had a chance to visit Helene, who is leaving for France soon and won't come back before 14. December. Inger Elisabeth, Hilde and Anne Lise also came. Inger Elisabeth, Hilde and me sat on the same train cabin going there. Suddenly a guy 4 rows in front of us turned his head and commented something we talked about. We ended up having an interesting conversation about what it means to be a christian and about the love of Jesus. This guy asked right on questions and seemed open and reflected. I guess everyone in the cabin could hear us, as it was 4 rows between us while we talked. Then Anne Lise came walking back to us. She had been sitting in the front part of the cabin worrying how she would find Helenes place, while she heard someone talk about this topics, turned her head and saw us.

Young Halloween

2006-11-01T23:16:00.000+01:00

Today I clowned at a halloween gathering at a youth club on Ammerud (in Oslo). I made lots of balloon figures for a few hours and had a show in the evening. It was pretty mixed age - teenagers and some younger ones. I prayed about how to make the show and Jesus said... Don't remember exact words, but I ended up having a wild show. At one point I threw myself as hard as I possible could against the floor. I'm not talking to fall, I'm talking to run and throw my body towards the floor... Without hurting myself one bit. Once I tried doing the same without the anointing (help from Jesus) for it - that hurts.

I had been in this club one time before and was interviewed by a local newspaper. The club had put the interview behind glass on the wall, and many of the young kids remembered me from last time I was there. I also remembered most of the leaders from last time. In my job I see so many new people all the time, so it's always nice when I feel I know the place and the people where I go.

Church Halloween

2006-10-31T23:11:00.000+01:00

Today I had a clown show at some kind of halloween gathering at a church in Larvik. They didn't try to scare the children in any way, but had drama, preaching and singing that lifted up Jesus. The woman who preached told the story of Zacchaeus. It was a very good, warm atmosphere there - so it was easy to enjoy my job.

Please give us Jesus

2006-10-30T23:34:00.000+01:00

Today I did a job for a state church in Oslo. They had sent out invitations to many people in the neighbourhood. They started the evening with food, then there were different activities for the children, like the balloon workshop I had for about 30 children. Afterwards there were a short gathering in the church room with some prayer and preaching. The preaching consisted of me telling the story when Zacchaeus met Jesus (Luke 19:1-10), illustrating with balloons while preaching. So naturally I had to make a balloon Jesus, which I gave to a kid when I had finished telling the story. Afterwards two small girls begged me to give them Jesus... A balloon Jesus that is... They were like: "We want Jesus, please give us Jesus". This was after I had finished and I was just about to clean up. And if you give something extra to one kid... But they were begging so sincerely, that they ended up receiving Jesus... The balloon Jesus that is.

What I really liked about this event was that I was given the opportunity to share about Jesus with people that doesn't go to church on a regular basis.

Normal Work Day?

2006-10-29T23:28:00.000+01:00

Today I planned to have a normal work day, as there is no point for me to have the resting day on Sundays... Who have the time to rest on Sundays anyway? It didn't end up quite that way after all, since Malene was visiting Oslo. I don't see her so often, since she live in Larvik (two hour train trip away), so I took the time to meet her. Then we also had time to talk some about the job I will do in her church 31. October. They are having some kind of gathering that is meant to be an alternative to the halloween gatherings.

Picture: I just showed Malene how to make a balloon ape.

Winter Clowning

2006-10-28T23:45:00.000+02:00

Today I did a three hour balloon twisting job for a kindergarden in Sarpsborg. Standard job??? Well, it was outdoors. I wore some extra clothes, but had sandals on my feet... for my nice yellow socks to show. This was the coldest day this far this year. Officially it's still autumn, but this really was a winter day. It came down some of this mix between rain and snow from heaven. Nice.

Thanks be to Jesus who made the three hours pass really fast. At a certain period in the middle of the day, I suddenly felt warm and did for quite long. I don't know if it was some temperature change or what... Thanks to Jesus anyway. But I won't work outside anymore before the spring.

Unpacking

2006-10-27T23:13:00.000+02:00

Today I needed most of the day just packing out stuff and preparing the evenings job. As this job was in a church and I was allowed to share about Jesus, I used much of the preparation time just being with Him, so that I would have something to give the children. What are balloons in itself anyway?

I also had a long Skype talk with Donny. He was interested in hearing how our Finnish friends are doing. He also shared more about "Generation Fire", which will be launched in 14 days.

Goodbye Gifts

2006-10-26T23:35:00.000+02:00

Today I left Finland. I have now been away from Norway for 15 days. I have not received ONE SINGLE job request concerning these days. Consider the fact that I worked almost every single day in the period before I left Norway and that I'm working almost every day in the next days, starting with a birthday party this evening. Also consider that I planned and booked my plane tickets good time in advance, not knowing how these days would be jobwise. Coincidence??? I just say: So amazing to travel with Jesus.

This morning before I went for the bus, Antti gave me a Finnish CD I really like. Yesterday Hanna gave me goodbye gifts. You guys really love me!!! Never forget: The greatest gift you can give is your amazing friendship.

Hannas Kindergarden

2006-10-25T23:01:00.000+02:00

Today I visited Hanna in the kindergarden where she is currently working. I came late, so many of the children had left, but it was nice to meet some of them. One girl even made a drawing for me. It showed me sitting at the table, eating, just like I was doing right then.

In the evening I was in a meeting in Metro Church. I felt kind of sad that I'm leaving Finland tomorrow, but I know that Jesus has good plans for me in Norway too. I was also really encouraged by praising Jesus and listening to people share stuff in the Metro Church.

Picture 1: Drawing of me eating.
Picture 2: They had a big poster at the wall in the kindergarden. In the center Jesus was holding some children in the hands. Most Jesus pictures I don't like, but I like this one. Some things on the poster was drawn by Hanna, others by some of the kids. Jesus was drawn by Hanna.

Tommis Cottage

2006-10-24T23:58:00.000+02:00

This morning me and Antti went to Tommis cottage. We had some great time together. Tommi also shared his testimony. He started to follow Jesus about a year ago, which means that last time I was in Kuopio, he didn't yet know Jesus. And now he is sharing passionately about his faith.

New World

2006-10-23T23:51:00.000+02:00

Today Antti and me had a slow morning. I used a few hours on updating the contact list on my Nokia e61, adding pictures from my laptop.

In the evening we went to Metro Church, where Jaakoo told us some interesting stuff about dynamic discipleship.

Afterwards I hung out with Elisa. We ate together, and she gave me licorise tea to go with the food. It had an interesting taste. Afterwards we ran to reach the shop before it closed, to buy licorise ice cream. It was fun running to reach something without really being in a hurry or stressed.

In the late evening Antti, Elisa and me watched a movie named "New World". I would best describe it as slow and romantic. It has some really good allegories to it. I won't spoil the fun and tell you. You better see for yourself.

Picture: Jaakko

Relaxing Day

2006-10-22T23:49:00.000+02:00

This was a relaxing day. Hanna, Antti and me were just hanging out together.

Picture: Hanna with a princess crown.

Kinder Eggs

2006-10-21T23:41:00.000+02:00

Today me and Antti woke up late. We had some terrible problems with the toilet. What goes down in one place might come up in another... I'll say no more. Antti went to Metro Church for some inspiring preaching in the afternoon. In the meantime I discovered new aspects of the child inside me. Having just found Kinder Eggs sold for half the price - I bought and assembled 24 of them. I told Antti I was staying behind to spend time with Jesus. You figure it out...

In the evening I went to a meeting in Metro Church. I joined in on praising Jesus and used the preaching time on updating my blog. Antti offered himself to interpretate, but I have to please my millions of readers so...

The meeting started at 6 pm and lasted to 10:50 pm. Lots and lots of that time we worshipped Jesus... In Finnish, in English, in tongues. Whatever language works just fine. I have to say I felt really good afterwards.

Outokumpu

2006-10-20T23:32:00.000+02:00

Today me and Antti went to Outokumpu, where we visited Eeva. She is currently staying a few days with her parents there. It was nice to get to meet them and her sister.

We went to pray by an old mine in Outokumpu. On the way there we passed Sirvo, which is the dance school Hanna attended some time ago. It was during the time she studied there she got saved, so it was cool to see it. We walked up lots of stairs to come to the mine. We stopped outside, where we could see most of the surrounding area. It was no others around, so we prayed pretty loud and passionately for the area. In the evening we went back to Kuopio and visited Hanna.

Picture 1: Eeva and her sister Elina. The picture was taken close to the house of their parents.
Picture2: Antti on the prayer place, by the closed down mine.

Hanna's Apartment

2006-10-19T23:30:00.000+02:00

Today I visited Hanna. Her apartment was like a shrine for Jesus. His presence is so strong there, that I felt like falling down on my knees the moment I came in. All over she have decorated in a way that illustrates something about Jesus. Well... I won't share any pictures from her apartment, so you just gotta go there and see for yourself...

She shared a meal called 'kalakukko' with me. This meal is special for Kuopio. I tried to guess what was inside and went for chicken, but it was some sort of fish and some other stuff. It was.... Survivable.... Not too bad. I ate a decent portion, so I guess there is hope for me still. Maybe I even learn to like 'mämmi' some day.

We had 'Hermanni' for dessert, also called 'friendship cake'. This cake takes ten days to make. Every day you are supposed to stir and put something in it. I would like to see the recipy... Not too make it... Just because I'm curious. The friendship cake was very good, well worth the ten days for those who are pasient enough to go for the best.

Kuopio

2006-10-18T23:53:00.000+02:00

Today I took the train from Tampere to Kuopio. Antti met me on the train station and we went straight to the Metro Church in Kuopio, where Antti and Hanna attends. I joined in on the worship. Although it was mostly in Finnish, I could still connect with the anointing in the meeting and be one in praise with the others.

Tampere

2006-10-17T16:37:00.000+02:00

Yesterday morning I went by train to Tampere to meet with Niina. We talked and prayed and had an encouraging time together.

Going to Finland

2006-10-16T23:17:00.000+02:00

Today I went by plain to Helsinki. My friends Simo and Markus picked me up at the airport. Then we went to pick up Eeva and Maarit, and I even got a chance to meet Maarits sister and mom. Then we went to boys' place in Riihimäki, where I met Mikko and Antti. Afterwards I also met Jussi. We all went on a walk in the forest in the dark evening and found a great place to pray.

Just before bedtime I also got to meet Pauli and Linnea. It was great to meet so many of my friends. Some of them were quite tired after their trip to Israel, but they still had energy for some good talks and prayer.

Picture: Mikko, Antti, Markus, Jussi, Eevas hair

They Said YES

2006-10-14T02:12:00.000+02:00

I just came back from the party, celebrating the marriage of Frank and Andrea. It was a lot of fun and even a bit touchy sometimes. Yea, they both said YES and now their lives have changed forever.

I had a lot of fun playing with three children at the party. I didn't bring any balloons on this trip, as my wrists felt like they really needed a break. It was so nice to play games and have fun in the good old way with no balloons.

Picture 1: Frank and Andrea outside right after the wedding ceremony.
Picture 2: We had lots of fun playing.

Currently in Germany

2006-10-13T02:31:00.000+02:00

Now I am currently updating my blog through my new mobil phone Nokia e61, which have a built in web-browser. I am now in Hemsbach close to Frankfurt, where my friends Frank and Andrea will soon marry... The wedding starts in a few hours. It's cool trying to speak German. I just hung out at a petrol station a couple of hours and tried to speak German with people there. This will be a great day!

Since last time I blogged? I have had a couple of busy weeks. To busy to write about, so it is good that I can have some resting time here in Germany.

Anchor in Storm

2006-09-26T23:26:00.000+02:00

Today I read through a book named "Anchor in Storm" (norwegian title: "Anker i Storm") by Helen Applegate. It's a story about a family trusting in Gods promises through a lot of struggles. It's a touching story about the faithfulness of God and the importance of keeping the faith when everything seems to fail. It's also the story about how YWAM, lead by God, started up the Mercy Ships ministry featuring the ships named Anastasis and Good Samaritan.

This book is very touching and good nutrition for your faith.

Workshop with Jesus Kids

2006-09-24T23:56:00.000+02:00

Today I had a workshop with balloons for the children at Jesus Kids in Jesus Church. This is the first time I have been in this group since before the summer. It's so great to spend some time with these lovely children.

I also handled the sound/image mixing at the childrens meeting afterwards as the technician was missing. Strange feeling as I haven't done any mixing since I had it as a part of my job in a TV studio, working in a very stressing environment, where I was kind of tensed doing this kind of job. For several reasons. Because I usually was the only person in charge of lights, image, sound, cameras and tagging (those little tags on the screen with info) - at the same time. Because I knew an error would be watched by lots of people. And because I knew that my employer would bark on me till I felt I could die for the smallest error. Amazingly I was very relaxed this time, even when I did some mistakes. Lovely. Some time ago I felt all stiff just by the thought of doing any mixing.

Picture: Workshop with balloons at Jesus Kids in Jesus Church.

Great Day

2006-09-23T23:39:00.000+02:00

Today I twisted balloons for 5 hours during the startup day for a new shop (norwegian name: "Bygger'n") in Drammen.

In the evening we gathered some people in the home of Anne Lysen and Sven Erik Lysen that is active in Prayer for Oslo. It was nice to meet their children and to spend time together in their home. It was also nice to meet Morten and his wife Angela, whom he married 7. july this year. I met Angela for the first time and I haven't seen him since some time before he married.

After eating pizza and cake and having some really good time of fellowship, we also had a great time with prayer and someone there shared some very encouraging prophetic words with me. After he had shared, I just started laughing and felt such a Jesus-joy confirming the words.

Picture: We're eating great home-made pizza in the home of Anne Lysen and Sven Erik Lysen.

My Camera

2006-09-22T22:56:00.000+02:00

Today I got my camera back. Karl Anders found it in his car yesterday. The reason I lost it was that the carrying case was of very poor quality (Brand name: Pixmania) and had dropped of from my belt.

Thank you Jesus for bringing it back to me. I give it to you! Let it be used to honour and lift up your glorious name!

Picture: Don't ever buy something brand named "Pixmania".

Giant Fireworks

2006-09-20T22:09:00.000+02:00

Today I got classified to use class IV fireworks here in Norway. This means that I am allowed to use fireworks with more than 1 kilogram of gunpowder in a single battery. I plan to use this for customers wanting to have something extra, for example for a wedding.

New Things Coming

2006-09-20T01:52:00.000+02:00

I had a great weekend close to Kristiansand preaching and using balloons, soap bubbles and juggling for illustration. More about this (in norwegian) here:
http://www.songdalen.com/default.aspx?aid=177

It is nice to look back and see how much has changed just in the last year. I now feel more safe and secure in what I am doing than ever - which probably mean there is a time for new challenges.

I have such a feeling inside that God really wants to change so much in my life and show me so great new things. So my challenge right now is to calm down, do less stuff and spend time in His presence, allowing Him to change me and show me new things.

I had a chat with Donny McGregor some days ago, the day before the first Connect Australia gathering. It was very inspiring to talk with him about Generation Fire, which is a movement that has a vision of a young army arising - that will seek God's face and spread His fire (apostolic and prophetic, hand in hand).

Hearing Donny talk about this vision I was reminded about something Jesus showed me some time ago. I was praying for Norway, and He told me that He was rising up His army. They weren't at all religious, and Jesus told me that most of the people I was seeing wasn't saved yet. I saw clearly how it was easier to have a non-religious non-christian person have an encounter with God and experience His fire and be rised up in a non-religious environment, than to try to change a religious person into a non-religious on fire christian.

Jesus also told me that there is a lot of sin in the different congregations. He told me that if a person wasn't living for Him every day and then came to a congregation once a week to "praise" Him, his praise would be a stank in His nose.

Bad Blogger Again

2006-09-14T23:10:00.000+02:00

It occurs to me that I have become a bad blogger again. It's not so fun to blog, I think, when I don't have a camera. I just bought a camera and then it disappeared just a few days afterwards. Aaaargghh. It appears to me that I need prayer. Either that I get rich so I can spend lots of money on cameras or that I become better at looking after stuff.

Some highlights the last two weeks:

Ålesund
I was there with my family and friends for a week. I also met Per Arne, who was a spiritual father for me the first years after I got saved and learned me a lot of stuff. It was great to have a talk with him. It was also great to be able to pray and have spiritual talks with my sisters.

Flying with Frank
Some of Frank's friends collected money to give him the possibility to fly a small plane for an hour, with the help of an instructor. It's a tradition to do something nice for friends that are about to marry. Only time will show if he takes this further and become a pilot.

Together for the Children
Also this year I had a workshop for child ministers on how to twist balloons at the "Sammen for Barna" (Together for the Children) conference in Kristiansand. This balloon thing just become more and more popular.

Men's Weekend
We had our first men only weekend at an island close to Arendal in the south of Norway. It was only me, Karl Anders and Tor Arne this time, but I think we might be more on later gatherings.

The Samson Syndrome

2006-08-30T12:29:00.000+02:00

I just finished a book named "The Samson Syndrome" (norwegian title: "Bare en Mann") by Mark Atteberry. The author takes basis in the biblical story about Samson. Based on this story he teaches on some of the mistakes "strong men" often do and how to avoid them. This book is mainly aimed towards successfull (in the eyes of the world) middle aged men, but I still got a lot out of it. The book is very structured and has a lot of entertaining stories to illustrate the points.

Fruit

2006-08-25T11:49:00.000+02:00

Today I participated in a confirmation musical at the local church here at Oppsal. Most of the performance was made by confirmaton youth, 14 year old teenagers. I didn't have much expectations beforehand, so I was surprised when I saw the level. The whole musical was written by a local woman at Oppsal named Merete Føyen Arnevåg. It was creative, fun and Jesus centered. The acting performances wasn't at a professional level, but far beyond what you could expect from kids that age with little or none experience. There was also a girl with an incredible singing talent. She can really make it far if she wants to. Her solo made me sit totally still, not making any moves, afraid of making the least sound ruining some of the incredible joy of listening to her song. And I also had a few minutes on stage with my clowning, I mimed the fruits of the spirit, having the audience guess what fruit I was miming.

Picture: Well... I should try to get one...

Jesus Freaks

2006-08-25T00:25:00.000+02:00

I just finnished reading "Jesus Freaks" by DC Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs. It has a lot of stories about men and women willingly facing torture and death for Jesus. Very inspiring.

Sending Helene

2006-08-24T23:16:00.000+02:00

This evening we had a sending of Helene. A lot of her friends gathered, and we prayed for her and blessed her in moving to France. She will live in Tours, which is a two hour train trip from Paris. She will leave early September. Luckily she plan to visit us in Norway in October and December later this year.

Picture: Helene sits on the chair. The rest of us surrounds her in prayer.

More Gossip

2006-08-19T19:08:00.000+02:00

I guess that there are a lot of my friends that are curious about Frank's plans. On my blog you can read the latest gossip and the hottest news.

Here they come...

His marriage just got reschedualed to 13. October, which comes right into my next planned trip to Finland. I'm helpless - sorry Finns. I can't say no coming to my best friends wedding. The wedding will be in Hemsbach south of Frankfurt. They plan to live there after the wedding, at least for some time.

My base of friends are currently growing both in Germany and France. What are God's plan, I wonder.

They are currently writing the wedding invitations... So don't be insulted if you are a close friend of Frank and haven't heard anything yet. Wait getting insulted till you find that he forgot to write you one... Hopefully he won't.

I still don't blame Frank for wasting time.

Frank's Surprise

2006-08-17T23:12:00.000+02:00

So... What do you have best friends for... I think my friends have discovered that I like surprises, but this one almost knocked me over. This morning at 9:09 I got an SMS from Frank saying that he is engaged with Andrea Stein. Then he asked me for a phonenumber to someone he needed juridic counceling from, like if he sent me the SMS just for that question in the first place. At 12:28 he called me (still asking for this number which I hadn't sent him) and was kind enough to give me a little more info, like that he and Andrea got together on Monday and engaged yesterday.

Me and Frank know Andrea from we lived close to "Diakonhjemmet" hospital and school some time ago. She is a German girl that studied some kind of special pedagogics there while she had her practise time in a kindergarten. She really likes kids and is a nice girl, so Frank is in good hands.

Their marriage will be in South Germany probably some time in early December, which means that I have to go to Germany. Lucky me :D

I have never blamed Frank for being the kind of guy that waste time...

Birthday Present

2006-08-15T23:54:00.000+02:00

Today I saw Rosalind for the first time after the summer and got the birthday present she had made for me. I had guessed already that she would knit something, but I was surprised when I got a colourful knitted vest. Creative and very surprising :D

We also rehearsed a little French. The way I see it... I just have to learn this language since Helene are already about to move to France and Rosalind plan to live there for a year next year.

Wild At Heart

2006-08-14T23:24:00.000+02:00

Today I finished a book named "Wild At Heart" (norwegian title: "Slipp Deg Løs, Mann") by John Eldredge.

It has a lot to say about living from the heart and finding back to God's original purpose for your life. It also has a lot to say about the role of the man in relationships and in the society otherwise. That said it is just as much for girls, as it is important for them to understand the role of the man.

To Denmark With Friends

2006-08-12T23:19:00.000+02:00

From yesterday till today was hired to do clowning for Stena Line aboard a cruise boat that goes between Oslo in Norway and Fredrikshamn in Denmark. My friends Kjetil, Lydia, Tobias, Stig and Solbjørg (from left to right) joined me on the 24 hour cruise.

When we stopped in Denmark this morning only Lydia, Solbjørg and me wanted to take a walk and look at the country. It was kind of fun to be in Denmark with Lydia because she got sooo entusiastic. She acted like me in Finland. Everything she saw there was awesome. For example it was this kind of soda they only have in Denmark that Lydia REALLY likes. To me it tasted almost like normal sprite. One time in her life she lived in Denmark for a year and obviously she got marked for life... It's so fun to see someone have some of the same entusiasm for something, as I have for Finland.

Open My Heart

2006-08-10T23:49:00.000+02:00

The last days have been silent days and stormy days. Silent days because I have used most of my time listening to praise music, reading, walking in the forest, swimming and so on. Stormy because God is working on me in a strong way, opening my heart and showing me new things. It's a painful process to be changed, but still a necessary one.

Picture: I took this a few days ago just by "Nøklevann" about 45 minutes walk from where I live.