Josh and Mary Ridinger

This is the reason we delayed our trip to Norway a month and it was so worth the wait! We were honored to attend the very spectacular wedding of Josh and Mary. You can’t even know how sweet this couple is or how much I love Josh and his brother Joe. We call them “The Bowler Boys” as they used to come to our townhouse in Seattle twice a year with several friends for weekend bowling tournaments. This went on all through their teenage years and early twenties. I never laugh harder than I’m with these guys and today was no exception. They are great kids – all grown up – and now happily married. Josh barely made it through his vows. As his voice started breaking up and he began to cry, Mary reached over with her antique handkerchief and wiped away his tears. Such deep love is a good thing.

The Ring of Fire

Kaleb is blessed to have so many people who love him – as am I. Here he is with his “Grandma Dorothy” who lives in Portland, Oregon. We stopped off at Multnomah Falls today for lunch on our way to her grandson’s wedding further up the Columbia River. Dorothy was my first Bible study and Sunday school teacher back in 1976 when I moved to Oregon. She’s been my “spiritual mom” ever since. We’re staying with her for a few days to get our “fix” before we leave. We had an awesome worship and prayer meeting last night at her house. Kory’s heart was physically touched by God and I had a vision of a ring of fire surrounding the neighborhood where we will be living in Norway. The fire of God fell on the perimeter of our block – from the Filadelfia Church on one edge, following the road along to our house and then on to the YWAM base circling the block on back to the church. It was a very exciting vision as I feel it’s my first “calling” in what to do when we arrive – to do prayer walks every day around that perimeter and pray for those who live within the fire ring. (I feel like I need to be playing Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” song as I’m writing this.)

Kory always says we can’t help the whole world, but we are responsible for those who are in front of us, so it’s obvious that’s where we begin our ministry. Lord help us!

These are the faces I love...

Deanna, a girlfriend in Seattle (bottom right in photo), invited me over for lunch today to say good-bye. Kory and Kaleb and I were on our way to Oregon for a few days to attend a wedding this Saturday so it fit nicely into our schedule as we headed south. What Deanna didn’t tell me is that she invited a bunch of my other friends over as well – so I got a wonderful surprise good-bye party!

I met these incredible women through a Bible study we attended back in 1993 lead by Janet (first row, center, in photo – and otherwise known to Kaleb as “Grammy J”) and we’ve all been good friends ever since. Only one of our original group was missing but it was a great day to see their smiling faces again and give them a hug and hear their voices one last time before we go. And the coolest thing was, it was just like our old Bible study days where we sat around the table talking about things of God. These are the faces of some of the most spiritual women I know and I’m blessed to call them my friends.

The Starrs Have Arrived!

Our house sitters, Ryan and Laura Starr came today! I tried not to overwhelm Laura with all the details about how to keep the house and yard up, but I think I did anyway. I made notes - perhaps that will help. It’s a lot of work to own a home, as they are soon to find out but I’m sure they will do fine.

I still have cleaning to do (closets mostly) but we only have one more day here before we leave for Oregon for a wedding… so tomorrow has the potential for being a very long day.

Tonight after dinner we went out to Delta Rock to show the newlyweds one of our favorite nearby spots to get romantic. They were not disappointed and it was a beautiful way to end the day. God is good.

On the way back from the hike we stopped off at Judi and Don Robinson’s house – a mile down our street. Their son was home from Chicago and it just so happens that his girlfriend and her parents were with him (who are from Michigan). Of all strange coincidences, the girlfriend is from the same church Laura grew up in and her family is good friends with … so here were two people from Michigan very coincidentally staying on the same street ( just for a night) in Skagit County. Totally weird, but then, once you start talking to people in the Covenant denomination, you find all kinds of strange ways the dots get connected.

Cleanliness is next to godliness...

The honeymooners (Ryan and Laura, our housesitters) are on their way! I was freaking out that the house wouldn’t be clean enough by the time they get here and God sent two angels by the name of Carol and Gail to my rescue. We cleaned all day and (except for my office) we made the house sparkle.

Carol and Gail are part of our home fellowship group. They say you don’t know who your friends are until you move… and it’s real clear I am blessed with true friends – they each scrubbed a different bathroom (toilet and all) while I was cleaning the kitchen. God bless them for their selfless giving of their time today! Hallelujah the house is clean!

And on a different note – Kaleb was on “my list” today as he was doing something I didn’t approve of in the least. I told him he couldn’t have a playdate on Wednesday if this behavior kept up. He then wrote me a note and disappeared. It simply said, “I will be living out in the fort until conditions improve.” It made me laugh out loud.

The Great Commission

We’ve taken on the “Great Commission” now as the Bible says – to go into all the world and preach the gospel! Our church, Bethany Covenant, officially commissioned us yesterday as missionaries to Norway! (When they were praying for us it felt like we were wrapped up in a warm love burrito.) Their motto is “People invited, encouraged and sent,” so yesterday we were sent. I’ll be teaching a Bible study at the Filadelfia Church just down the street from our house in Aalesund and I hope to be speaking again to the state church women’s group where I spoke a few years ago. We also will be living by the Youth With a Mission base and plan to be involved there – so the doors are definitely open for however God sees fit to use us.

Coincidentally (not) John and Letha Kerl were visiting our church yesterday. They are the Covenant Missionaries overseeing all the mission work in Europe. They live in France so we will be in contact with them throughout our time in Norway. God’s timing is always perfect.

I’m excited to be a missionary! I’ve never officially been one before but I think all Christians should be everyday wherever they are. Kory was a missionary to Paraguay in 1971 and he has some incredible stories from that time. I hope we come back with many stories as well because you know how I love to tell a good story!

(It’s kind of ironic that we are being “sent” to Norway as missionaries when our church was started by a bunch of Swedes. Uff da.)

More Good-byes

Monday our neighbor Joan had us over a for a neighborhood good-bye dinner. We played cards and had a many good laughs. Oh how we are blessed with good neighbors!

And I can’t say enough how much I’m going to miss our home fellowship group. Here’s the bulk of us (2 adults missing – as well as 15 kids). We all got together Friday night for a final BBQ. I hate goodbyes.

And then Saturday our beloved “Grammy J” treated us all to a nice good-bye event by taking us out to Northwest Trek to see the animals native to our area. What a great day. We are so spoiled.

I had a massage Tuesday to reduce some of my muscle tension (don’t know where that came from!). It happened to be by a Norwegian guy that came here 14 years ago from Trondheim. He said he doesn’t miss Norway at all – the people are too “closed” he said. They don’t share their feelings or emotions. I guess that’s why we will miss all our friends here so much – because we are all very good at sharing our lives with each other. It’s a richness that money just can’t buy.

Let's Play!

Here’s Kory and Kaleb at a Mariner’s game last Sunday. Kory won the tickets, otherwise he wouldn’t spend money on such a thing… but it was a good activity for a 4th of July weekend nonetheless. And while the boys were playing, I started cleaning.

When Kaleb was born I asked a few women old enough to be my mom, what was the biggest mistake they made in raising their children. They each said, “I kept my house too clean.” It was easy advice to take at the time and it took a lot of pressure off me and kept my focus on important things – being available to play and interact with Kaleb in all the various and sundry ways over the years. And the advice made sense at the time… but now, almost ten years into living in this house and not doing much house work, our house is just downright scary and now I’m paying for all that PLAY time! Some of the furniture hasn’t been moved in ten years -- yikes!

We own rental property and I HATE to have new tenants move into the old tenants “yuck” so I always clean with a toothbrush to get every speck of dirt in every little corner of the unit. I don’t live by that standard myself, but now that we have Ryan and Laura moving into our house next week, I feel like I need to get rid of the “yuck” that’s been building up for the last decade. So the sun is shining this week, and so are my floors.

We leave two weeks from today. I’m far from ready. Kory has spent all week at our apartment building in Seattle cleaning a unit that just became vacant and we are hoping to get rented out before we go. Kaleb has spent the week in Bellingham at Western Washington University going to science camp. He made a solar oven and a CO2 powered race car. He’s been in his element, for sure, but this is one week we are all happy to see end, as we are all very tired.

Wedding Bells

Eric got married today! He’s one of the kids we lovingly call “The Powerline Kids” because they used to live by the power lines where I walked my dog, Waldo. We met them in 1993 and they were all so little then – Eric just six years old. And today he got married to Lindsey, a beautiful young woman who I know will bring him a lot of happiness. But those kids sure grew up fast (that’s Sara, Evan & Eric in the photo.) They are the kids that gave Kory and I practice at being parents as we loved to have them come over to our house any chance we could. We took them camping and to baseball practices and even to Disneyland. They call us their “God parents” but to us, they are just our kids and we love them a lot. We’ll miss celebrating their birthdays and Christmas with them while we’re gone. Just one of the many things that will be different this next year. (I’m certainly glad we were here for the wedding though!)

4th of July

Sometimes Kory is just downright embarrassing. His patriotism is a bit over the top, don’t you think?

I had to be seen in public with him today looking like that! He kept shouting “Hallelujah” every chance he got. I’m glad this day only comes once a year. I have forbid him from bringing those clothes with us to Norway. He’d be the bull’s eye target for any terrorist activity, I’m sure.

I took the day off from packing/cleaning/purging to see the parade in Sedro-Woolley and have family time. We went and saw Wall-E (cute movie) and went to dinner. I’m trying to eat as many meals out as I can before we leave since we won’t be doing that at ALL in Norway -- it’s sooooooo expensive. Last year we went out for pizza and it was $167 – so it would be close to $300 now with the fallen dollar (for a pizza!!!). It’s just not part of their culture to eat out because it’s taxed so heavily by the government -- it’s considered a luxury they don’t need (and they don’t have a lot of restaurants either). We always take Odd and Turid out for dinner when we stay with them every year and we’ve yet to spend less than $500 on one meal for the four of us. That same meal this year would cost $750 so I don’t think we’ll be doing it until we earn some kroner to pay for it as the dollar just keeps falling….

Summer Fun

I am feeling much better, so after the lightening and thunder storm at home, we ventured over to the Johnsons to go see the fireworks up at Big Lake. Kaleb brought along his friend Riley and they had an absolute blast being pulled around the lake on one of those blow-up contraptions. Riley flew off shortly after this photo was taken as she let go in order to give the two thumbs up. Kaleb nearly fell in with her. What a fun memory for them to share. Riley will miss Kaleb the most when we’re gone as she is absolutely crazy in love with my boy.

Sick Happens

There are blessings even in sickness. First Kaleb came down with a bug on Saturday and caused us to stay home from a race he was going to enter (and several other activities that day), so I used the time nursing him to wash windows (which sorely needed it before we left). Then Tuesday I had big plans in Seattle for the day but I caught what he had and I wasn’t going anywhere. Because of that, our plans to go to Family Camp on Wednesday had to be cancelled because I couldn’t get out of bed and get things packed. Kaleb is still coughing and blowing his nose and said it was OK to miss Family Camp because there were other things going on this weekend he was looking forward to. So in the blessing of sickness…we get five extra days at home to keep on cleaning/purging/packing and taking care of the endless list of details that must be done in order to up and leave one’s life.

Yesterday, sick and all, I had to go to Seattle anyway and meet with my friend Ann that will take care of all the books for our apartment building in Seattle. Her and her husband John will manage things for us while we’re gone – for which we are eternally grateful. It’s nice to have such long term friends that you can trust to take care of things as if they are their own.

Happy Anniversary!

One of my favorite sayings is: “Attempt something so big that without God it will surely fail.” Well, that’s how life is these days. This trip to Norway certainly wouldn’t be on its way without God opening all the right doors at the right time. We are already two thousand dollars over budget to get there and at least a thousand a month over budget once we are there, but I have a God that supplies all my needs, so I’m not worried… just curious how he will do it! And yesterday Kory and I celebrated 17 years of marriage. Without God, that just wouldn’t have happened either. We’ve come a long way and we have much to be thankful for. Our God is an awesome God!

The Dance

We leave 4 weeks from yesterday! I’ve been frantically cleaning and moving things from one room to the next trying to eliminate some of the clutter for the Starrs (our house sitters). Kaleb leaves a trail of destruction in every room he occupies. The piles of books on the coffee table and the pillows and clothes on the floor in every room of the house almost send me over the edge some days, but I try to keep it in perspective. These days won’t last forever and my yelling at him just might. It’s funny the tapes we play over and over in our heads when we grow up – and I don’t want his biggest memory of me being all the times I yelled at him. (But just my luck, they will be… and he’ll never know all the self control I used in keeping the yelling to a minimum.)

Kaleb finished up the last Weekly Puppy today (note the Puppy Dog pose in the photo). He’s been producing that dog pup-lick-ation for over a year now – every week! Amazing stamina. He’s going to a monthly format now to take some pressure off (and calling it The Weakly Puppy) – mostly because we won’t be homeschooling in Norway. I’m so impressed with all he’s done. Every cent he raised selling subscriptions he gave away – over $1,750 all totaled since he started in February 2007. I’m in awe of that child.

Kory and I attended a prayer meeting last night. Always so incredible to just sit in the presence of God and let him love on us. I had a vision while I was being quiet – one of a ballroom dancing scene and the couple was me and Jesus. It was so beautiful to watch as we gracefully moved around to the sound of the music that was playing in the background. I was asking myself “how do I do that?” (dance so well) and I heard the voice of God say, “I’m the one in the lead… you just need to relax and follow my steps.” It was such a lovely way to picture our relationship and a good reminder to RELAX a bit more these frantic days. Especially good to think about after I got the word from the shipper today that our boxes won’t arrive until the week of August 7th. Yikes. I wasn’t expecting that – he originally said they’d be there the week of July 28th… so I’ll just relax and trust God as I’m sure it will all turn out fine.

On one hand this move feels so completely out of control for me and there are many unknowns. The things I do know (like how expensive it is to live in Norway), are pretty daunting. But on the other hand, I’ve been walking this walk with God long enough to know He wouldn’t be sending us to Norway if he wasn’t coming right along with us and providing for all our needs as He has done so miraculously all these years. Apparently I just need to RELAX a bit more right now and enjoy the dance.

One Month To Go...

We leave a month from today! The time is going by way too quickly. If it goes this fast when we are in Norway it won’t seem like we were gone hardly at all. Maybe the long dark winter will help slow the time down for us.

The total for shipping our boxes was over $3,300. Ugh. More than a thousand over what I had budgeted. I can only think on the good side and realize that $3,300 won’t buy much in Norway so it was worth it to send so many useful items. A pair of Levis is over $100, a pair of running shoes, $200. I’m expecting to pay $3,000 a month just for food. I think Kory and I will do some serious fasting while we’re there!

I got an e-mail from the toll office in Norway answering my question about the taxes. We will owe 25% on anything new. There is no “freebee” when you ship things in – you only get the $1,200 tax free on things you hand carry into the county. Had I known that going in to this whole process, I would have only carried on the new items. Ugh. We’ll probably owe at least $300 in taxes and who knows what other fees there will be. This is all so educational! Oh the things you learn about the inner workings of a country when you try to move there.

Let me just say how much I’m going to miss the Dollar Store. Bargains everywhere you turn. I shopped til my heart’s content before the last box was packed up. In Norway it’s customary to bring gifts when you go for a visit. It’s way cooler to bring something from America than to buy something they can get over there… so I bought a year’s supply of hostess gifts. Lovely things, really. Nice Mary Engelbreit notepads and cards (okay, made in China, but still… they don’t know who M.E. is in Norway and they should), wonderful lotions and scrubs from a company in Canada (oh, that’s not America either… hmmm). But still, those items just made my heart sing… and you put a pretty bow on the whole thing and you’re stylin’! So I can’t wait to make new friends and impress them with my excellent taste in gifts (at bargain prices, no less) as well as my foresight in packing up something especially picked out for them before I even met them or left America! Woo hoo! (And note, this will be the last time I use the word “bargain” for awhile as NOTHING in Norway will be….)

Farewells...

We attended two “farewell” parties this weekend. It’s nice to be loved and it’s comforting to know we will be missed. Hard to believe we make that much difference in a person’s life, but then, I guess that’s the point of one’s existence. We’ve done our job well if we will be missed.

We belong to a “Dine with Nine” group at our church. We are all outstanding cooks and every dinner is like taking your mouth to paradise. I will miss the food, the conversation, the laughs and the lovely faces of all those in our group. It’s a great way to get to know others from church and the dramas that unfold are much better than any major motion picture.

We also attended a pool party good-bye from our home fellowship group. It was a congratulations party too for one member that just got her Bachelor’s degree. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day at a home that should be on the cover of every Home Beautiful magazine (see photo!). We felt like we were in a dream world where everything is perfect and the yard is meticulously manicured and the house as picturesque as it could be. Savannah, Georgia came to mind… except that we were surrounded by farm land and there was no moss dangling from the trees. Life is so good sometimes I have to pinch myself to see if I’m dreaming.

Taxes!

I’m writing this from my new laptop, sitting in a cute little beach cabin on Camano Island. Kory and Kaleb and I are having a little family vacation, before we leave on our trip. This photo was taken last night after the sun went down. Kaleb got the idea that we should launch a burning barge out on the water (in the style of a Norwegian viking king burial ship) and then go roast marshmallows (probably not something they did back then). Funny boy. Adventurous mind.

I'd like Kaleb to have as much of a normal summer as possible. He’ll be going to Vacation Bible School, summer science camp and family camp all in the next few weeks. Gotta get while the gettin’s good. Summer is my best time to socialize him since there are so many day camps and fun activities to do. I usually have him tied up for 4 weeks each summer doing something to expand his horizons. School will start just a few weeks after we arrive in Norway so I want him to feel like he had a good summer of fun before he starts in with all the big changes.

I wrote an e-mail to the “toll” office in Norway. They got back to me about my concerns over our shipment – do we have to be in Oslo when the boxes arrive, etc. He said we can clear customs in Aalesund, which is hugely good news since it would be so expensive to get down to Oslo just for a formality. He said “once we pay the tax” our stuff will be released to us. I’m bracing for how much that will be.

I got a notice on our last statement from our Norwegian bank account that said any purchases made outside Norway using the ATM card will just automatically tack on their tax to the amount withdrawn. Good old Norwegian ingenuity… figuring out how to tax you even when you are out of the country! (Their sales tax is a whopping 25%.) So the amount of tax we will owe on what we bring in should be something to consider. Most everything is "used" so that’s tax free but we did have to buy some things and all totaled up was just over $1,000 of new items. If I read their website properly then we each should be able to bring in $1,200 worth of stuff tax free… so I’m hoping we make out OK, but you never know. Oh well, I say… it’s just money! And in Norway you actually get something for the taxes you pay – things like free medical, free education, guaranteed retirement… stuff like that. And they don’t have property tax. So when you think about all the different taxes we have and what the money goes for, I’d much rather pay high taxes in Norway and feel like there was some value there. But enough about that…

The sun is setting and I must go see what God will paint in the sky tonight.

The Boxes Are On Their Way!

Here's a bird's eye view of the area where we are moving. If you follow the line from the X you can faintly see a circle - and that's where we will live -- an area outside Aalesund called Moa. (The town of Aalesund is further out towards the water's edge.)

Kory and I drove to Kent today to deliver 28 boxes of all that our lives will consist of in Norway for the next year. I do pray they arrive safely. No final count yet on the cost but it won’t be cheap. Oh well… it’s just money. And we’ll have clothes to wear, books to read, towels to dry off with and pots to cook with, so life will be good.

I’m feeling quite relieved to know we have a car waiting for us and a house lined up. It’s a good way to start off the year. The only thing that would make it better is if the dollar made a comeback… but again, it’s just money.

Kaleb showed some sign of promise yesterday. He’s been completely against this move because he’s wanted to live in our condo, but now that he knows we’ll be so close to it I think he’s warming up to the idea of going. Yesterday he even said (with a dreamy lilt to his voice) “Oh I can’t wait til I can have gjeteost and mørepolse everyday – and we can have fiskebolle anytime we want!” (Norwegian foods that I think are disgusting but Kory and Kaleb really enjoy). So there’s always the upside to any change and I’m thankful he’s looking for it.

Cousin Turid registered Kaleb today at what will be his new school. It’s a small school with (I believe) only one 4th grade class so he’ll know all the kids, that’s for sure. We love the cousins! They are all pitching in to help us with the transition. God is good to provide such a wonderful family for us in Norway!

We have a HOUSE!

Another complete God Thing!

I've been watching the internet classifieds in Norway for months - and absolutely nothing has come on the market in the area where we want to live. Even the cousins were getting nervous. One suggested we just buy a house and sell it when we leave, as the opportunities for rentals are few and far between. Another cousin was going to run an ad for us saying we wanted to rent a place... but you know me, I just prayed.

I really wanted to live in our condo because of it's location - just steps away from everything you can think of but it's not an option with Aunt Ruth living there. Kaleb felt the same and didn't want to move to Norway if we couldn't live at "Moa" (where our condo is). Just a few steps away from our condo is the swimming pool and movie theatre, library, mall, banks, grocery stores, church, bus transfer station, bakeries, you name it - it's all there.

Well, God did one better than our condo - he got us a house as close to our condo as you can get! And it's 2 bedrooms (our condo only has one) and it has a huge yard (not so for our condo).... and best of all, it's in a neighborhood with seven trampolines (we took a sneak peek on google earth). So Kaleb will be right in the neighborhood with all the kids he's going to go to school with - which is far better for socializing him than living in a condo with a bunch of retired people and you have to go through security steps to even knock on our door.

So God heard our prayers and blessed us beyond our expectations... and how he did that was... a few months ago I sent out an e-mail to all our relatives and friends in Aalesund saying that we were hoping to get approval to live there soon but we wanted to get a jump on a rental in case anyone heard of anything coming up. And the cousins who were witnesses at our wedding had a broken computer at the time so they didn't get our message until last week. By then they thought we'd already secured a place to live but they talked to a friend anyway about her house. The friend had a temporary job across the fjord and had been gone a year and had some things done on her house while she was gone. Her job was now done and she was going to move back to Moa to her old job, but her son wanted to stay and finish out his last year of school across the fjord. She was contemplating staying away for an additional year for her son's sake but couldn't make up her mind... then the cousin told her about us and that Kory is a carpenter and the woman still wanted her kitchen remodeled... so she's willing to reduce the rent for Kory doing some carpentry work on the place (which is good cuz the rent is more than $2,000 a month on a house about 800 square feet...).

So PRAISE GOD that we have a place to land! She'll rent it to us starting August 1st (we arrive in Norway July 26th). Kaleb will start school August 18th and our life in Norway will begin. I can't wait to see what's in store.

And the house is about 700 feet from our condo, and just 1/2 block to the Filadelfia Church where we will attend and I'll hold a Bible study, and less than a block from the house where Kory and I got engaged and also on the same block as the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base where 2 "kids" from Seattle are living/working/involved in ministry there and we know their parents. So many connections on that one block it makes my head spin.

GOD IS GOOD! and all I can say is HALLELUJAH!

Marching Orders

Bible verses from my daily devotions this morning:
Acts 26:16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

Yes, I feel we are being sent by God to Norway to be a witness of what we have seen of Him and what he will show us. Freaky scripture, as it speaks directly to my soul. But then, that’s how you know the Holy Spirit is talking to you – it gets you all flustered or excited and NO ONE else “gets it.”

Big milestone this week – all boxes are packed and ready to go! And now our house is surprisingly more comfortable. I guess we had enough stuff to supply two households all along because we certainly won’t miss a thing we’re sending to Norway (and not bringing back). The linen closet doesn’t have problems with closing now. I have room in my clothes closet to see what’s on the hanger without taking it out. The dishes aren’t falling out of the cupboard when I open the door. I guess I should have done this long ago, but purging is a hard thing to do. It’s much easier when I know I’m not actually getting rid of the things – just moving them to another location.

It’s also a bit of a shock to realize how much OTHER stuff I have that isn’t really an essential item. The stuff I’m bringing to Norway is just stuff I know we will need – bedding, towels, clothes, shoes, camping gear, basic kitchen items. And we’ll do fine living simply. Make’s me wonder about the purpose of all that other stuff we AREN'T taking….