I’m completely overwhelmed by the goodness of God and all I can say is HALLELUJAH! I was invited to attend a women’s prayer meeting today – a group of six women that have been meeting every Friday for many, many years and praying not just for their own needs but for their church and city and nation as well. Truly these women have a heart for God and they know how to pray. But today they asked me to tell them about “soaking prayer” so I shared the same thing I shared last night at church and they were intrigued by the idea of not ASKING for anything but just giving God their quiet presence (the Bible says, “BE STILL and know that I am God”). After my talk, they all wanted to SOAK, so we sprawled out on the floor of the house where we were meeting and invited God to show up. When we were done, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house. One woman said she actually felt God stroking her hair, letting her know He was there. She could feel His presence like never before. They all said that. No one could talk for quite a while because everyone wanted to keep feeling the feeling of having Him near. How cool is that?
Afterwards we ate lunch together, and then they asked if I would pray for each of them. I didn’t know these women (except for one) but I prayed for things that just came to my mind and as it turned out, it was for very specific things for which they each needed prayer. Amazing. They asked if I could come back every week. (I had to skip the last two hours of my Norwegian class to attend, but some things are just more important than learning Norwegian.) So it was an incredibly uplifting time for me and the women there. They asked if Kory could start a men’s soaking prayer time because there is nothing currently happening at their church just for men and they see great benefit in the men drawing closer to God too. So he will talk to the pastor about that soon. Hallelujah! I’m in awe of how powerfully God moves and how faithful He is to love on people and let them know just how real He is. It’s the coolest thing.
Everything else today paled in comparison but it was still a very good day. Kaleb went back to school and was happy to go and Kory had a nice morning alone and completed his drawing of our dog sled trip. Tobias came over right after school and Kory took the boys fishing to help break their addiction to electronics (but they caught no fish). We told Tobias he gets to come along with us to the resort in February. His eyes got as big as saucers and the smile on his face was huge – it was the sweetest thing. Then he and Kaleb sat on the couch for at least an hour checking out the website of the resort to see all there is to do and planning out their time when they will be there. Too cute. After dinner the boys played a common treasure hunt game played in the winter here in Norway – someone hides a reflector and the kids each have a flashlight and go hunting for it. (Reflectors are big here as everyone wears them dangling from their clothes when they walk near the street in the dark.) At first I hid it in the empty house next door, but then they wanted to go looking for it in the grass (the ice and snow all melted over night), so I just opened the door and tossed it as far as I could and it kept them busy for a good 15 minutes each time as they scoured the yard with their flashlights looking for it. (It was kind of like playing a slow motion version of “fetch” with a dog.) In the process they found 9 ½ kroner (about $1.30) as the coins hidden in the grass reflected light almost as well as the reflector. Pretty funny.
Tobias stayed on for family game night and we had a few rousing rounds of Aggravation. That kid likes to laugh. We all had a good laugh poking a little fun at his English as I came in 3rd place for one game and he said something about me being “turd.” Norwegians don’t ever pronounce the “th” in words – they just say it like a “t” so we had to explain to him that “turd” in English has another meaning. When he found out what that meaning was, he laughed more than the rest of us. I know the feeling, as there are many words that I mispronounce and I’ve seen a few people blush when I’ve been talking. Just one wrong vowel sound and a sentence can take on a whole new meaning, so I guess it works both ways. I tried not to laugh today when the women were talking about soaking prayer, as every time they said it in English, it sounded like they were saying “sucking prayer.” In a way, it might be a more descriptive (but perhaps a little crude) way to say it. I heard when they were talking to each other about it in Norwegian, (they don’t have a word that really means that) they described it using the Norwegian word for “sinking.” (A word I’m all too familiar with since moving into The Sinking Houses.) I’m just glad God shows up, no matter how we say it or what we say, and I’m sure He’s having as much fun as we are in the process. And I'm positive He likes to laugh, too.
Afterwards we ate lunch together, and then they asked if I would pray for each of them. I didn’t know these women (except for one) but I prayed for things that just came to my mind and as it turned out, it was for very specific things for which they each needed prayer. Amazing. They asked if I could come back every week. (I had to skip the last two hours of my Norwegian class to attend, but some things are just more important than learning Norwegian.) So it was an incredibly uplifting time for me and the women there. They asked if Kory could start a men’s soaking prayer time because there is nothing currently happening at their church just for men and they see great benefit in the men drawing closer to God too. So he will talk to the pastor about that soon. Hallelujah! I’m in awe of how powerfully God moves and how faithful He is to love on people and let them know just how real He is. It’s the coolest thing.
Everything else today paled in comparison but it was still a very good day. Kaleb went back to school and was happy to go and Kory had a nice morning alone and completed his drawing of our dog sled trip. Tobias came over right after school and Kory took the boys fishing to help break their addiction to electronics (but they caught no fish). We told Tobias he gets to come along with us to the resort in February. His eyes got as big as saucers and the smile on his face was huge – it was the sweetest thing. Then he and Kaleb sat on the couch for at least an hour checking out the website of the resort to see all there is to do and planning out their time when they will be there. Too cute. After dinner the boys played a common treasure hunt game played in the winter here in Norway – someone hides a reflector and the kids each have a flashlight and go hunting for it. (Reflectors are big here as everyone wears them dangling from their clothes when they walk near the street in the dark.) At first I hid it in the empty house next door, but then they wanted to go looking for it in the grass (the ice and snow all melted over night), so I just opened the door and tossed it as far as I could and it kept them busy for a good 15 minutes each time as they scoured the yard with their flashlights looking for it. (It was kind of like playing a slow motion version of “fetch” with a dog.) In the process they found 9 ½ kroner (about $1.30) as the coins hidden in the grass reflected light almost as well as the reflector. Pretty funny.
Tobias stayed on for family game night and we had a few rousing rounds of Aggravation. That kid likes to laugh. We all had a good laugh poking a little fun at his English as I came in 3rd place for one game and he said something about me being “turd.” Norwegians don’t ever pronounce the “th” in words – they just say it like a “t” so we had to explain to him that “turd” in English has another meaning. When he found out what that meaning was, he laughed more than the rest of us. I know the feeling, as there are many words that I mispronounce and I’ve seen a few people blush when I’ve been talking. Just one wrong vowel sound and a sentence can take on a whole new meaning, so I guess it works both ways. I tried not to laugh today when the women were talking about soaking prayer, as every time they said it in English, it sounded like they were saying “sucking prayer.” In a way, it might be a more descriptive (but perhaps a little crude) way to say it. I heard when they were talking to each other about it in Norwegian, (they don’t have a word that really means that) they described it using the Norwegian word for “sinking.” (A word I’m all too familiar with since moving into The Sinking Houses.) I’m just glad God shows up, no matter how we say it or what we say, and I’m sure He’s having as much fun as we are in the process. And I'm positive He likes to laugh, too.
