Viimeiset veneet - part 2

It's again been a long while since last blog entry. No excuses here. Again there has been several topics popping into my mind, but not yet becoming "materialized" into blog text.

As I've started this series about my favorite song, I'll continue where I left last time. Now the second stanza of the song:
2. Viilenee hiukan jo hyväily tuulen, joutsenet oikovat siipiään.
|: Kanteleen soittajan uupuvan kuulen, sirkatkin riisuvat pois kenkiään. :|

A quick English translation: The tender touch of the wind has become cooler, swans are already stretching their wings. I can hear the zither player becoming sleepy, even the crickets are taking off their shoes.

This part basically continues to draw the image of the wonderful nature God has created. In the evening, when the busy goings of the day is calming down, one can almost hear and feel the exhaustion of the well lived day time. It is good to know, that we are meant also to rest, not only work and run as robots. The tender breath of the evening wind, the natural actions of the creation preparing for the night, the admission that I am tired, all leads to the peaceful moment, where I can just lie down and close my eyes in solitude. Yet, I am not alone, God is with me through His creation. His faithfulness is the reason I can entrust myself totally to Him. I don't need to worry about the night and its horrors, or whether I will wake up in the morning at all; I need not to worry about what tomorrow will bring, or what illness or pain I will need to bear; all is in His hands, mighty and loving hands.

Yesterday with my Chinese cell group, we read from the Bible the place where Jesus spoke about God dressing the flowers of the field and feeding the birds of heaven: Book of Matthew, chapter 6, and verses 24 to 34. This place spoke to us, despite it being very familiar and often read. The freshness of Jesus' words speaks to us everyday, because we have the tendency to worry, to control, to want to know. In the group we discussed about what it means to worry, what it means to not worry, and where is the balance. We concluded that to worry helps us to act out, not to worry tend to keep us ignorant of things that need to be done or issues need to be prepared for; then again, worry also often takes away the bliss of living a fully trustful life toward Jesus, the ability to live simply. Then, not worrying about life also might mean that we neglect the responsibilities we have and live as fools.

All in all, the balance is here: to live our lives fully at each moment, doing our best in what we are supposed to do, and leave the rest to God. To seek His kingdom is not something spiritual only, but certainly includes to work and provide for the family, to keep fit, to care for family and friends, to be the shoulder for the mourning ones, to be the ladder for the learning ones, to be the support to the weak, and be the companion to the joyful. To seek God's kingdom is to live fully His words and life in everyday life.

The verse 2 of Viimeiset veneet comes down to life, to everyday life, the little moments that may appear vain but actually is all that matters - it is only those little moments that we have. Every choice matters, every decision counts; every action of heavenly nobility is precious, and every moment is evenly valuable. Rest and solitude is certainly part of the plan that God has for us, I hope I can learn the lesson to keep and enjoy those moments.

Viimeiset veneet - part 1

For those of you who don't understand Finnish, that is, the language of Finland (not the people ;), I will translate the topic of this entry: Viimeiset veneet = The Last Boats. This is the name of one of my favorite songs, and it tells about life in a way that touches my heart and awakes my longing toward the heavenly home.

Yesterday evening I was humming this song by myself after a long while and the idea came to blog about it. As the song has 5 verses altogether, I think each verse is worth an entry, thus here comes the first one.

Before going into details, as an intro, the composer of the music Lasse Heikkilä has also written the lyrics, and the song was introduced in a "Finnish Mass" (suomalainen messu), kind of church service of songs. Later I hope to link some introductory page for you who don't know the piece. The music of the song is nice and very Finnish, though it is more the lyrics that has touched me the most.

The first verse goes like this:
1. Viimeiset veneet kun palaavat rantaan, illaksi kääntynyt päivä on.
|: Piirretään vielä hei sydämet santaan, valvotaan vierellä nuotion. :|
Rough translation to English:
When the last boats have returned ashore, the day has turned to eve.
|: Hey, let's draw hearts into the sand, let's stay up around the camp-fire. :|

This verse always brings into memory my first Summer outreach to Russia. It was year 2000 and at the end of Summer, I joined a small group and went to Saint Petersburg area to stay a week or two in a children's Summer camp. There we spent time with the kids and their group leaders. I didn't know any Russian, I knew only one person in the outreach team beforehand, and I had just finished my High School and moving into a new city (Tampere).

The outreach went well, I got a spark to learn Russian, and continued with these outreaches for the following few Summers. During the last night of the trip we went out to the forest by the river with the local group leaders and some kids. We had a camp-fire, roasted bread and potatoes (I think so), played guitar and listened to Russian camp-fire songs... It was a memorable evening. Later in our own evening prayer time we listened to this song, The Last Boats. The camp-fire in Russia and the songs, the dusk of forest, the sunset, the smell of local life, the peace and quietness... I have come to miss those moments, I have come to treasure those moments.

How great it would be if we can always stay up late, always "draw hearts into the sand", always have the company of friends around a camp-fire and just be. No need necessarily to talk anything, no need to pretend, no need to play guessing game around life. Just the presence of friends, solitude, camp-fire, timelessness. Hear the sounds of water hitting the shore, occasional breath of wind, dancing of the trees and their shadows, dancing of the tongues of fire around the wood, stars above, tree roots below, a sense of unworthiness at the vast splendor of the creation.

These feelings are what the song brings to me when I'm sitting in our living room sofa with guitar in my lap and eyes closed. Once again I experience the nature, the solitude, the reality of life outside of the small box of my daily routines.

This was the first verse, and there are more to come. Gratitude arises alongside the texts I'm typing into this entry, thank God for gifted people who honor Him with their talents and heart. Thank you Lasse.

Wonders of Chinglish

Today we had a good chance to reflect on the wonders of Chinese English. Here are some gems:

- If you no three no four, I'll give you some colour see see!!

- Horse horse tiger tiger

- Good good study, day day up!

- Five talks four beauties

Heh, I guess these are just common ones that you can find from the web as well. Maybe I'll post some text later about the depth and vividness of Chinese language and culture. :)