Tid bits on School Camp & Propel Women Book Club

It's Saturday afternoon ... And my eyes are resting on photos from the lovely School Camp this week.

We had a great 3 days School Camp with the 3rd -6th graders at my work. The weather was with us, we had sunny and warm days outside: By the sea, in the forest, climbing on the fallen tree trunks, admiring the things growing around us. 
Not forgetting sports and games - Baseball is the game for sunny days ... I just love it! 
I got some tips on how to cast the ball, and also this very helpful line: "Just hit the ball - Don't think!" - seemed to work well for me :)

I was back home yesterday at 4 pm - and I thought I would just close my eyes for a while, but I woke up 4 hours later! Well, I woke up fresh and had some supper and tea - and was ready to fall asleep at the normal time - I guess the fresh air and camp life does consume more energy that you expect!

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Just a quick tip to any bookworm friends of mine: 
I joined the Propel Women Book Club a while ago, and I have just purchased the first book through the club - Christine Caine's Unashamed. 
Christine Caine spoke at the Colour Conference in London last month - Her witty yet straight forward nature made it an unforgettable experience to listen to her sharing. 
Especially her work with trafficked woman at the A21 is wonderful, rescuing the fate of many, not only women, but also men and children, as A21 is focusing on the trafficking taking place among refugees today.

In the Unashamed book Christine Caine tells her story and how she has coped with the shame, she has carried on her shoulders dues some of the experiences from her life (abuse among other things). 

I downloaded the Unashamed Kindle version, and will read alongside the other Book Club members - Christine Caine will have a video each Monday on the Book Clubs Facebook group, where there will be discussion etc. 
I look forward of opening the book and starting the first chapter ...

I hope you're doing well,

Wishing you a peaceful weekend,

Nina

sharing with

 Friendship Friday Friday Photo Journal

Saturday's share Fest by The Sits Girls

Fridays Finds & A Novel Recommendation

I've been reading outside under a sunshade this week - a gripping novel by Linda Olsson, Let Me Sing You Gentle Songs.  

To prolong my time with this unique novel, I am reading only a few chapters a day. Linda Olsson gives you a peek into the lives of to women, Astrid and Veronika, who through their friendship dare process some of the difficulties, they have faced. 

I am intrigued by the descriptions of places, moments, thoughts, personalities ... tasting the words, and enjoying the way things are written. I look so much forward of returning to the worlds of Astrid and Veronika later this afternoon!

The season of blueberries has started in Finland - my mom had picked a great bunch of them yesterday. Here in Denmark we don't have wild blueberries, but my husband bought some of them the other day ... I cherish the blue shade and the look of them almost as much as eating them!

We had a traditional Danish lunch in a lovely restaurant in the middle of the pretty Hareskov forest.
"Smørrebrød" goes back to the 19th century, where the lunch was the heaviest meal of the day. One used to use any remaining food - potatoes, meat, fish, vegetables - as a topping on the bread. 

We had lunch plates (the photo above) with 

• White herring with onions and capers
• Eggs and shrimps with herbmayonnaise, lemon and dill
• Chicken salad with curry, mushrooms and bacon
• A special beef-sausage fried with malt and spices and red onion

Afterwards we took a walk in the forest - we saw a tiny frog in the swampy area pictured above, and a deer running just across the path before us.

I have been baking rolls for breakfast this week. I tried a new recipe yesterday - by my favourite food blogging friend Dawn from Words of Deliciousness. She surely knows how to inspire with her recipes - I always find new ideas from her, here's some of my favourite dishes I've learned from her:

• Bavarian Apple Torte ... The best apple pie ever!
• Buttermilk-Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze - fresh and sweet taste of summer.
• Chicken Parmesan Bundles - Yummy, both for the kids and adults!
• Pillow-Soft Dinner Rolls - Tastes good for breakfast as well (picture above).

Dawn has a 3 year blog anniversary this month - pay a visit to her tasty and inspiring blog Words of Deliciousness.

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The next two weeks, when I am away from the blog, you will find inspiring guest posts in my blog, written by special and unique blogging friends. I have also pre-posted For Your Sunday-posts and something else ... 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Nina

Sharing with 

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 Saturday Share Fest Friday Photo Journal

For the love of a book - Kierkegaard's The Purity of the Heart

 

Do you remember the feeling you get when opening a book, you're longing to read?  A kind of eagerness to swallow the first pages and to get deep with it - Like meeting an old friend, you haven't seen for a while. Holding the book in your hands, feeling the cover and the worn pages ... going through the memories of the place and the situation of life the last time you read it.

I had this feeling the other week, as I picked up Søren Kierkegaard's The Purity of Heart is to will one thing. I bought this book from a library sale under my studies in Continental Theological Seminary in Bruxelles -96. The book was hidden behind a stock of commentaries in the lowest shelf - waiting to be discovered. I picked it up and sank in a deep armchair, forgetting the time and the place ... Clearly, this was love at first sight.

 

Kierkegaard is authentic with his questions about the true longing and motives of one's heart - sharpening the focus as you turn the pages. Am I willing to seek the Good / God? Am I ready to give what it takes to be completely open and honest? Do I dare to see the double-mindedness of my self in the eyes ... Would I rub off the dust and stains from the mirror of my heart, to be able to see the reflection of my self in His clear light?

The honesty of Kierkegaard's own reflections about the condition of his heart gives the reader courage to give himself in the proces. At the same time the reader feels being safe, since Kierkegaard confidently assures and reasons, that  when we are willing to seek wholeness and healing, God will meet us where we are, expecting nothing else than honesty and willingness to recieve.

Kierkegaard's philosophical approach requires that the reader is alert and willing to go with him in to the rhetoric discussions and arguments about the condition of one's heart. Concluding in the end, that the good  is all that comes from God.

I keep returning to Kierkegaard's book The purity of the heart is to will one thing. Each time reading it is a new experience ... relating to my current situation in life & the condition of my heart.

This makes the book is ageless, crossing the boundaries of time and place - bringing your heart and The Good / God in focus.

 

PS. I photographed this series as my final assignment to the Art of Composition-class by Tracey Clark / Big Picture Classes.

I'm linking to

 

The Cozy Book Hop : : : Friendship Friday : : : Freedom Fridays : : : Random 5 Friday 

Aloha Friday : : : Fun Friday Blog Hop : : : Friday Flash Blog Hop : : : The Weekly Top Shot