Fresh start and sour grapes

Dear friends!
I'm not sure if I'm back again but I just wanted to add a few lines about recent events.
I hope you are all doing fine, winter is behind us and spring is attacking from all angels.
I started my new work in February and am slowly getting acquainted with the dos and donts and the amount of people constantly flowing around me.

As I said, it's a school where you can get an education even if you are an adult with adult children. It's a school where people come to shape up grades or just finish the schoolyears they didn't finish before, because life got in the way.
To our school people come that has been working many years and finally made the decision to learn the trade properly. It's also a school for newcomers that needs to learn swedish language and culture in order to get established in their new country.I help out in those classes.

AROUND the school you have a peaceful village and a great deal of forest, birch and pine and others.  Streams with old stonebridges are everywhere and there are plenty of steep hills so getting around by bike would probably fit nicely for one particular Austrian friend.....
Here I have my place as schoolchaplain but I also teach a little.

School has got a chapel and since the school don't have any classes for Swedish church anymore, the chapel is often empty. However, I've arranged a theme for Valentine's day and one for Easter, using some lovely dolls that were made especially for the biblical drama. I'll show you later how I used them!

Otherwise, life is slowly getting brighter and the dark days are not over but have become endurance, at least some of them. There is hope. I think you have been praying for us, I know for sure that some of you have and I'm truly grateful.
That's it for this time, God bless you and enjoy this spring and the treasures that goes with it!

We got lost in the woods on our outing day with school

Breaking Hiatus? Not really.

Dear friends in the blogosphere!!

I have been away for some months now and it was of great need.  I have missed you all and the relatable and fascinating posts you make.
Life turned into misery for us, and so I thought I didnt have the strenght to follow up with reading and comments . As you know, I have my faith and rely on it, but even if I also find my friends here very supportive and openminded, I just had to leave.
During autumn and this strange season called winter ( you cant  sleighride on puddles can you!)
weve experienced one of the worst periods ever. Its been important for me to create new reasons for spending time with my girls, since teenagers tend to retreat in troublesome times.
Also my husband and I try to find time to breathe, walking miles as often as possible.
We are beginning to see light in the tunnel!!!
So dont worry, we are not burdened beyond capacity.

Now for something else!  I am taking up another position, earlier in autumn I applied for job in the post college school we have some miles from here. I dont know if that concept is familiar to you, but its a school where you catch up with your studies, upgrade where you failed, try something new.
There is also shorter and longer courses for seniors. Language for the newcommers.  Specially featured classes for people with social disorders and other handicap.
To this kind of school there is often a chaplain to go with the school chapel. So the chaplainship and the teaching will be my new life. Church of Sweden arrange some shorter weekend class for volonteers, these will be my responsibility . 
This means meeting a constant flow of people, mostly younger but also seniors.
I felt it time for a change since there was things in life that didnt seem changeable right now. Change what you can, wait for the rest.  Ive longed to teach for years, now the opening was there.

They asked if I was use to comunicating via internet. If I could imagine having teachings, conversations and councelling that way also.
It was a new thought. But this autumn I have as I said spent more time with my girls and in order to do that I joined an internet community where they both spend much time. That world have been closed to me, apart from this blog, and Ive been very unsupportive and non-understanding.

Two things emerged from this experience:
We have lots of things to talk about and debate on , common interests and experience.
Second, I have had the opportunity to make contact with young people all over the world.
Being older, a parent in their midst, they have been a little awkvard at first, but now I have a constant flow of chats going on. I read their blogs and comment on things I find interesting or alarming.
They dont know that I am a minister, but they still come for private chats, seeking help and advice.
I have learned so much about how young people think, act, speak, interact and express themselves.
I have learned to be more creative since many of them also share their skills in editing and painting.

Some of you were a bit troubled by my Korean blog earlier this autumn. I kept thinking that I ought to be troubled too, but then it dawned on me:
Sharing this with my girls and challenging myself to meet teenagers and young adults on internet, have actually become my great advantage! I didnt know this summer that I would be teaching this spring. But the Lord knew and prepared me for it.  Its not idle time, its tough getting through sometimes and with quite a few I have very deep conversations around faith, bible and God.

We just have to face the fact that many people withdraw from actual contact with others, partly or totally. The school where I will now work, is a place for these. Many come here with social anxiety, bad experience from school, work or social life. Their time in this school will let them grow and mature, develop new skills and hopefully be ready to take on life in a brighter mood.

I know, she takes a hiatus from her blog in order to be more active on internet???? Aha.......?
Not quite, but partly true.
As soon as I have established myself on the school and eased down a bit, I will probably be back more often. Maybe not very active, but still here.
I wish for you a blessed and bright start of this new year.  So much to bring despair, even more to bring hope. The Lord is present in everything we do and if its in our hearts to do something we believe deeply in, he will bless it. Nothing is outside of his care.

This summer water was running critically low, as you can see, the streams are now filled!!