Tanja @tanjaostman@dingdash.com

@lynnexxa I pray for Kelly!

@farmerjohn exactly!

@erdenpilger you are right! Since English is not my strongest language it's not always easy to choose the correct terms. We are called to live among the people of this world, not as eremites, as you also concluded. We are to live in the world, but not of the word, meaning the word system. I think it's possible, since it was possible for Jesus and the first Christians. Jesus was a friend of sinners, which upset the religious leaders. Frank Viola writes about the world system in the book Insurgence- Reclaming the Gospel of the Kingdom. It's a system of power and a certain mindset that's not from God. It's about putting power, money, and other gods above God.

@MaryMamuzich thank you! But it's my friend Heidi in the picture. Maybe we look alike. 😀

My colleague and friend Heidi defended her doctor's thesis today and invited me to the dinner at a fine dining restaurant. It felt like coming out of a cave, since we have been working from home since March 2020 and haven't met all together since that. I have been so much in the woods lately and I prefer hiking shoes before high heels. But I have nothing against this world. We Christians are not called out of the world, but to be where the people are... even if it's sometimes easier to just be with those who think and are like yourself... or to be alone in nature.

@sinbach too many innocent women are killed in Finland and Sweden by their husbands, boyfriends and exes. Ordinary people don't carry guns here since it's not allowed (except from for hunting). It's a tricky thing to defend yourself in these two countries, because if you use "excessive force" when trying to defend yourself, you can be more punished than the perpetrator. So you may defend yourself but know exactly how hard you can hit the perpetrator so that he won't hurt too much or die. How easy is that when your life is threatened?

I love The Babylon bee sarcasm. And I love the fact that it's possible (as a Nordic citizen) to question what's going on regarding covid and world politics on Dingdash, without being called names and being accused of being anti-intellectual fooled by conspiracy theories, like you easily are on Facebook... (The question is, who is fooled? The trust in governments is too high in the Nordic countries, in my opinion).

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/may/06/chinese-rocket-falling-crash-to-earth-saturday-china-space-station-long-march-5b-us-space-command?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1620260497

@KarlGessler well put! The same applies for Europe.

An article by a Finn living in America about cultural differences, and why Finland ranks highest in the world on UN World Happiness Report. It's not about living in the most wealthy country in the world, since it's far from the richest country. It's about contentment and reasonable expectations. In addition emotional well-being was not measured (then we wouldn't top), but variables like education, freedom, democracy, lack of corruption etc were included. The word "Happiness" is a little misleading in this study, since lots of Finns are quite grumpy and depressed. We used to be known as a leading country for suicides some decades ago, besides the famous Finnish vodka and knives. (Maybe a result of too many wars and poverty). It's getting better and I'm happy that we are getting famous for other things nowadays, like our school system, Finnish design, the beautiful and clean nature (and clean air) and the UN WHR etc.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/04/finland-happiness-lagom-hygge.html

@sinbach Thanks for sharing! I was about to share exactly the same article, but you did it first. This is really alarming and quite shocking. We are talking about Finland, not countries like Sweden, Holland, England… I have followed Päivi for a while, and I haven’t found her behavior or writings provocative, inappropriate or hateful etc. She treats others with respect! She hasn’t used her power as a minister or member of Parliament for any agendas or propaganda… like some leftists. She criticized the State Church (where she is a member) for participating in the Pride parade, in a tweet! And she has expressed her opinions about marriage, when people have asked. She wrote a booklet, for Christians, many years ago, that is scrutinized now. I think she hasn’t even shared it on internet. This is just the mafia method to silence all critical voices!! Her case has already been going on for a couple of years, and she is strong. But pray for Päivi, for righteous outcomes – that justice wins!

@moamfj @sinbach You put it so well! Beautiful! What's your profession? Do you work with traumatized persons? Whether it's volunteering or in your profession, it's an
important job!

@sinbach praying! 🙏 ❤️

You might think I am a little weird, because I'm tapping birch sap. It's super healthy and I give it to my son to enhance his immune system, since it helps against pollen allergy. It's very easy to tap, and we have birches, so why not... it's expensive in grocery stores. (And to all tree huggers: it doesn't hurt the tree. We plug the hole when we are finished and it heals).

@farmerjohn Such a great article! Almost 12 years on an average in prison. Respect!! Some say, persecution is the normal and a peaceful life is an exception throughout Church history. Am I prepared for that? I don’t think so, and I don’t want it to come and I am quite comfortable… but I see some signs that it’s coming here. Still people are not killed here, but “canceled” and slandered. Do I have my identity and security in Christ, or in “Christian stuff” like Church buildings, traditions, denominations, pastors, own assignments, loyalties? I don’t think so… I’ve been in a (painful) process the last ten years of being stripped away things that have given me a false sense of security and identity. God is preparing me, and others, for something. I’ve seen people struggle with their religious identity the last year (like I haven’t), when they have not been able to meet in certain buildings. The Chinese know that Christ lives within them and is with them regardless of where they are.