On this day 24 years ago...

I was born :) My parents' first child.

Time really does fly! I can't believe I'm 24 already! Anyways! I don't feel like writing much... just thought I'd post some random picks... Show you a little bit of who I am or whatever the picks tell you... who knows? Maybe you'll learn something new about me :oP

Here I am with my baby sitter.

Holding a dead crockodile :)

Surrounded by friends.

Dad reading to us outside our tents in Woito. (We lived in tents for 6 months while a hut was being built for us.)

The Norwegian School's girl soccer team!

Sleep-over at the boarding school :)

Song competition at The Norwegian School... I am in the pink dress! :oP Oh, so fun!

Ok, I think that'll do... how was that for RANDOM picks... hehe... Have a nice day!

Ahhhhhhh! It feels goooooood!

First final of the semester is OVER! Feels great! I have another one next week on Wednesday. Some more crazy studying ahead. BUT when that is over there's only a few days and I leave for Hungary to visit my friend Tóta!!! That's going to be so much fun! (She studies medicine over there.)

Anyways! I took the afternoon off from studying. Went to visit Magga and her little baby boy, Örnólfur... He's not so little anymore! He was sick today so he just wanted to cuddle in his mom's arms. Sooooo cute!

Well, I need to get going... volleyball practice! I'm going to spike the ball so hard! :oP

Hahahahaha

Ok, you should check this out! Seriously! Take a look at this music video. It's great! :) Let me introduce you to:

Silvia Night - "Congratulations"

So what do you think about it?

This is Iceland's contribution to Eurovision 2006, The European Song Contest. I think it's great! It has silly lyrics, which makes it funny and it puts on a good show. The best part ofcourse is the hillarious character of Silvia Night! She is really funny!

Drowning in paper...

This is close to how it looks when I have finals, just add a BIG pile of books and a unmade bed to that.

And since I'm in a weird mood I thought I'd post a random verse to "cheer myself up" :oP HA!



"Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."
....
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes 1: 2,18

Great verses right? I feel like putting on a comedy and not studying... after all more knowledge only brings me more grief!

Ok, I'll stop this nonsense! Those verses are completely out of context so... don't listen to me! Haha :oP

ARRRGH! Frustration!!!

Man-O-man! I have been studying none stop for days now and I feel like I know NOTHING! How is that possible? Frustration is taking over right now... which means I need to calm down and gather my thoughts. I wish I had a really sticky brain so that whatever I read just stuck... If only... hmmm... oh, well. I better go back to studying!

I CAN DO IT! I CAN DO IT!

Like a tree by a river...

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
- Jeremiah 17:7-8

I want to be like that tree by the river. When the world around me gets hot and dry I still have my source of life from deep down in the soil... the river water reaches my roots and my leaves are green. The heat and drought can not dry me out because my nourishment doesn't come from the world that's seen around me, it lies hidden beneath the dried ground. You may not see it because the environment, so dry and hot, tells you differently, but it's there... Just look at the green leaves!

I'm planting my roots in Christ. He is the Water of Life. In lifes droughts and rough times I still have my source of life - God. He is my strength, my hope, my joy, my life, my everything.

I am hoping that my green leaves are visible to the world around me and that they point out that tere is a source of Life - eternal life.

Ready... Get set... READ!!!

OH, MAN! Finals! I better get motivated and study. The next few weeks will consist of sleep, study, food, study, workouts and more studying. Sound like fun? Ahhh... not really! I'm stressed out... but I know this too shall pass :) Can't wait! Ha!

Do you need some motivation as well? I know I do... Let's see what we can find...

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men"
Colossians 3:23

"The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights."
Habbakuk 3:19

I feel like I'm about to climb a huge mountain. What I really want to do is walk around it, pass it by somehow, but that won't get me trhough my finals :oP I must climb! That's why Col 3:23 is a great motivator for me :) Oh, and these next few verses I just love!

"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:28-31

That's where my strength comes from!

Ok, I'm ready to study now :oP

Broken relationships...

I think that is one of the thigs that hurts the most in life... when a relationship becomes broken. Friendship, family relationships, romantic relationships basically any relationship you have with someone you love. If something goes wrong and it breaks for some reason it hurts. If the mending of that relationship is neglected people leave each other with open wounds. Hardship or trouble that could strengthen the relationship and unite instead causes separation and hurt. Running away from it won't solve it. Not talking about it won't either. It is by working through our differences, misunderstandings, disappointments and whatever problems we have that we grow stronger and closer together.

I try with all my heart to be the kind of friend God wants me to be. I know I fail at it many times but I am learning as God keeps working in me.

He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
Proverbs 17:9)

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
(Proverbs 17:17)

...I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
(Ephesians 4:1-2)

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
(Colossians 3:13)

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
(1 John 4:7)

Love is at the centre! Love is forgiving, compassionate, patient. Love is what covers and heals the wounds. I posted this a few days ago, but I want to again:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Cor. 13:4-7)
Love protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

This is the kind of Love that comes from God and we can give to others through His work in us .

Happy 27th anniversary!!!

Yea, it's my mom and dad's 27th anniversary today! Think about that! I think that is really awesome. Happy anniversary!

These are picks from their wedding day - March 10 1979. Yup, it was a double wedding! My mom's brother, Gulli, married her friend, Birna, the same day. Here's the funny thing - both bridegrooms have the same name: Guðlaugur called Gulli!

Mom and dad at the wedding celebration.

God has blessed me with great parents! I can confide in them, seek their advice and basically do whatever! Goofing off with my whole family is so much fun. Back to my parents though. They are a great example to me and what they have in each other and their relationship is a gift from God. I want that kind of relationship - a relationship where God is at the centre, where praying together is natural. Those are things that are very important... at least to me :o)

I don't think I thank God enough for my family... I should do that! I take too many things for granted, sometimes even the people that are most important to me.

I thought it was appropriate to end this post with a few verses from the Bible:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 5:25-33

Creativity

I like being creative :) Just now I felt like flipping out with my camera so I took some picks of some stuff I've made... hope you like ;)

This is a Bible-case I made out of some cardboard, colored paper and beauty magazines. In there I keep my English Bible.

Take a closer look... It's not just random stuff on there, I tried to find stuff that I could connect to the Bible and what it means to me ;)

Making bracelets is something I've done since I was a kid... We call them friendship bracelets at summer camp, cause you make 'em and then give to someone.

Work in progress... and some that are done. (You can click on the picks to see larger ones)

...

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

The clouds were mourning...

Today it rained and rained and rained... It was almost as if the clouds were mourning with us.

I don't know how it is where you come from, but here in Iceland we have a short gathering where family and close friends come together to say good bye to the person who passed away before the casket is closed. Today we had such a gathering for Didda in this chapel (see picture below).

We sang some songs, the pastor of her church said a few words about Didda and prayed. We had a beautiful time there together. At the end all of us stood up, went to the casket, drew a crossmark over Didda and said our good byes. She looked very peaceful and I know she rests in our Father's arms.

She led a life full of love... true Christian love. She was a woman who genuinely cared about people around her. That's why the pastor read 1 Cor 13 - the famous chapter about Love. Some people say it is about Christ's love, other's say it is the kind of love people who spent time with Jesus had... I think both are right because it is about the kind of love that comes only from knowing Christ and from His work within a person. Here are a few verses from that chapter:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Click here if you want to read the whole chapter!

Today was a TOUGH day! I am emotionally drained from a lot of emotional stress the last few weeks. It is hard to work through feelings of sorrow at the same time as dealing with hurt and disappointment... But I know I have a Father in Heaven who holds me in His hand. I may not always understand His ways but I can trust that He'll lead me through this life... one step at a time. I can cast my cares upon Him because He cares for me. So if you are having a rough time - know that we have a Father in heaven who wants to carry us and lead us. He is the one who can give us peace in the midst of life's storms. That is something I have experienced many times. God is my shelter and my strenght.

More pictures!

So, I've put some picks in two new albums... ENJOY!

Ready for a nice dinner party with KSF (Christian College Group)

Sing star, volleyball and dinner-party!

Icelandic beauty!