Tanja @tanjaostman@dingdash.com

I am happy that we have Asian stores in our small town in this corner of the world called Finland. This is from our favourite, called Asian Market. Today we had dumplings for dinner, and different snacks after. We use to buy ingredients for Thai food as well. I once watched a documentary about real Chinese food in China. They said that Chinese food is much more diverse, rich and tasty than we are used to in the West. That's true for our city. I prefer the Thai restaurants here. They said in the documentary that those who start restaurants here haven't got the right education by real Chinese chefs, and usually aren't chefs at all.

A prophetic song. Many of us have had broken fathers and/or mothers. The good news is that the curse is broken through the new bloodline (Jesus’), and we have a perfect Father! We don’t have to repeat the same mistakes as our earthly parents. A renewal of the mind is not always easy, because we have to actively change our way of thinking, be honest with ourselves, recognize our own brokenness, but God is willing to help us if we honestly cry out to him and he makes us new creations! It’s an ongoing work. In God’s eyes our brokenness is not a disaster, but a possibility for him to use us for his purposes. We learn empathy. He has promised a new family and blessings for all who are rejected by their families (some fathers want to kill their own children for turning from other religions to Christ). God’s heart is beating for the widows and fatherless all throughout the Bible. He is defending the weak and needy. This is what He is like!

https://youtu.be/ep1GLeeiiWE

Happy midsummer from Finland! 🌸🏵 We are celebrating Finnish-Swedish midsummer when the sun never sets. I know it sounds exotic for foreigners with midnight sun, but we are so used to it. It's the opposite in the winter, when the sun never rises for a couple of months above the Arctic circle. Where we live we see the pale sun for a few hours a day.

I just finished this working week and am a little exhausted. I have interviewed (on Zoom) around 80 persons that have applied to become teachers. My ratio of their total points is 25 %. I picked this bouquet of wildflowers in our neighborhood last night. I love this time of the year in Scandinavia! 🌸🌷🌼🌻

I love Sweden, and I share stuff like this with a heavy heart. This is about other things than helping people in their deepest needs (then they would help the Yazidis etc). It’s about “extreme” immigration policies. Today Sweden is the second most violent country in Europe. Sweden used to be the safe haven for people around the world. Including my Finnish ancestors, and Jews, during the WWII. Today most of their politics are based on atheistic secular humanism, which might look good on the surface but is destructive. Have you heard that ISIS terrorists that have returned to Sweden are offered free apartments, instead of international war crime tribunals? Did you know that if they rape a woman on the street, they get short sentences and are probably not sent back to their home countries? Did you know that you can travel to Sweden (car, ferry) without any further security control. It’s easy to smuggle illegal drugs and weapons. I could go on, but no digits left.

https://youtu.be/0sa2ciindUg

At my in-laws' summer cottage. Swimming and Finnish sauna. Most Finns love this! Pictures taken at 9.30 pm and it will be light all night! It's nice in the evening but not so nice when it's hard to fall asleep or you wake up at 4 am.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/rainbow-revival-freedom-march-declares-move-of-god-for-ex-lgbt-people.html

@sinbach some old Swedish words. Eljest = otherwise, huru = how, givit = given, hägn = fence, surround, ofärdstider = times of unrest, war time

@sinbach a cousin who has lived all of her life in Sweden shared this today, and it gave me goosebumps. A song written by Lewi Pethrus, who was the leader of the Swedish pentecostal movement half a century ago. It's about God's angels protecting the borders with their swords, praying mothers, to be spared from war when the rest of the world was bleeding, the beautiful nature, and all riches of the country.

Enjoying summer after a long, cold winter and a cold springtime. Two weeks ago we had +6°C during the weekend. Since Tuesday we have had around 20-24°C everyday. Beach day today.

The crabapple trees in our garden blossom for 7-10 days. Carpe diem! I wish time could stand still.

We have celebrated my friend's daughter Jasmine today! In Finland it's a big day to get the white cap after passing the Finnish matriculation exam (upper secondary school). About half of the students choose this path after the compulsory school at the age of 16, and the other half choose an easier more practical education for a vocation. This education called gymnasium is very theoretical and a preparation for university studies. Finnish women are among the highest educated women in the world, and outnumber males in Finnish universities. Unfortunately there aren't jobs for everyone that correspond to their education.

My dear son Edvin finished grade 6 today! Great grades and proud parents. In August he will go to another school in the city. We start school at the age of 7 in Finland so he has just turned 13.