Anne Vaughan Steiner

May 18, 2011

Anne Vaughan Steiner

June 20, 1928 – May 18, 2011

Very early in the morning I received a call from my sister Cheryl in San Antonio that our mother passed away peacefully in her sleep.  Our mother suffered from Alzheimer’s for many years, so we are confident that her struggle with this horrible disease is over and she is now whole and was welcomed to her eternal home by God and those who have entered His presence before her.

Plain and simple:  No one prepares you for what it's like to lose your mom.  I told a few friends that when you lose a mom you slip into a special sisterhood.  Your friends reach out and comfort you, pray for you, and check in on you to see how you are doing, but there is nothing like the consoling of a friend who has gone before you and experienced it herself.  They truly understand the loss you feel like no other.  I have learned a lot from this experience of losing a parent.  One is to be more thoughtful, more intentional, and more caring when my friends lose a loved one. 

Many times leading up to her death I would listen to one song on my iPod over and over – nothing in particular, but the same sounds would let me just zone out as I was not ready to deal with the sadness that would ensue.  Sometimes I felt numb.  I couldn’t read Scripture or pray, but  my heart always knew there were those who were standing at the throne on my behalf. 

If I may, and I guess I can since it's my blog,  ;)  I will repeat what I wrote on my Facebook wall as it’s a precious reminder of my sweet mother. 

Over the years whenever I visited my folks or they came to see us, my mother and I would leave little notes tucked in various places to be found after our visit had ended.  This made the end of a wonderful visit last a little longer.  A couple of years ago I was re-arranging some things stored under our bed when a slip of paper fell to the floor.  I turned it over to read the writing which said, “Sweet Dreams, Deb…Love Mom.”  When she was still able, she must have written the note and tucked it under my pillow for me to find that night when I went to sleep; only I didn’t until years later … when I needed it most. 

Sweet Dreams, Mom…Love, Deb

All Nations Praise...

May 1, 2011 - Sunday

On this Sunday our Koinonia International Fellowship (this is an English speaking group that meets for services on Sunday afternoons) joined in an “All Nations Praise” service at our Swedish Korskyrkan (church).  Many countries were represented in worship – Africa (Congo, Kenya, Cameroon, Tanzania, Sierra Leone), Iran, Peru, England, China, Philippines, Sweden, and of course the US!  It was an awesome time singing praise and worship songs that we love at home. 

If you recall early in the beginning of this blog I struggled with how many of the Swedes would not look or acknowledge a smile or warm “hello” – but I have to say these people were downright friendly and know how to get the praise groove on!!

After we sang songs of praise Pastor Anders (his first name) gave the message in Swedish with a young translator standing at his side speaking in English.  It was a wonderful message.   One of the questions he asked was, Who would thank you for making a difference in his life?  This was not about me feeling appreciated but about what impact of intentionality am I making in the lives of others?  Definitely convicting…

Below are pictures taken during the morning.

Africa was represented with the singing of  their own praise songs
 (These people are from our small international fellowship)

 Pastor Anders and Pastor Elson (their first names) welcoming everyone.
Elson leads our internationa group in Bible study on Sunday afternoons.
(It's not your computer - the picture is fuzzy)

Tacka Herren fÖr Han är god

(Thank the Lord for He is good)

Easter in Norway

My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.  Isaiah 48:13 (NIV)

The long 10-hour drives each day were a small price to pay for the treat in store for us. Every twist and turn yielded the most beautiful landscapes of snow covered mountains, grand water falls to small trickles along the roadside, fast rapids and slow moving streams.  And then there was one of the most beautiful sites I will never forget right outside of the city of Bergen – where the lake’s waters were perfectly still revealing a perfect reflection of the view surrounding it.  I couldn’t help but think of Psalm 23’s The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside the still waters…  

Below are the pictures. They speak for themselves and I will try to identify areas as best I can with a little help from my sweet husband – who remembers everything!  I hope you enjoy the views.  We have been fortunate to travel to different areas of Europe.  This is one I would very much like to return to in the future. 

First I am posting a map to give you an idea of where we traveled to. See Karlstad, Sweden first.

  

Snowy wilderness in Buskerud area

  MåbØvatnet River

Storegjieltunnelen



Entering the tunnel above you wind around as seen in this picture.

Hardangerfjord (on the ferry)

Salsas where we had dinner in Bergen

Bryggen (old town section-on the left - that survived the many fires)

Still Bergen...

Bryggen

Vågen (Marina in Bergen)

Scandic Hotel in Bergen where we stayed (wouldn't recommend it).

Lake near Vossavangen    (my favorite - a perfect reflection)

Large ice chunk crashing down the waterfall near Hylland

Aurland (where we had lunch) - the Aurlandsfjorden

On the Manheller-Fodnes Ferry across the Sognefjorden (the largest fjord in the world

Hella-Dragsvik Ferry across an arm of the Sognefjorden

Important signs to know on the ferry…

This is near HØlen

Church on the island of KvamsØy

Near Bergheim (How would you like this in your backyard?) 

 Lote-Anda Ferry on the Nordfjord - Beautiful sunset.

Our car is first in line on the Solavågen-FestØya Ferry – this is on the Norwegian Sea.

Ålesund where we spent the second night.  This is part of our suite. 

We had a total waterview!

View from our balcony.  We even saw a couple of cruise ships come and go.

Harbor in Ålesund

Ålesund is known for it’s distinctive architecture and colorful buildings. 

Most of these were built soon after the great fire of 1903.

  

Notice the chunk of ice down the waterfall from one picture to the next. 

It made a loud thunderous noise as it crashed agains the rocks. 

This is near the town of Åndalsnes.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! 

Easter in Sweden

Easter Weekend in Sweden --

When we met our landlord for the first time we were here on our apartment hunting trip and actually looking at a different apartment.  It was towards the end of October and I noticed there wasn’t much around in the way of fall decorations or Halloween decorations which are big in many areas of the states.  So, I asked about it and was told that they do celebrate Halloween and were actually getting more into it, but it was at Easter that they dressed up more in costume.  She told me they dress as witches and go about getting candy. Some of you might have heard this before, but I’m the mom who, when Annie was in kindergarten and dressed as a little black cat for the Halloween parade, told the teacher she was a house cat not a Halloween cat, so she wouldn’t have her march alongside the witch. (GRIN) So, hearing this about Easter here in Sweden, I made a mental note I did not really want be around.

A little bit about a Swedish Easter of today.  It is traditionally not about a religious celebration for most of the Swedes, but still a major celebration. They have egg candles, egg candies, wooden eggs, cooked eggs – eggs are big – as well as wooden and toy chicks and bunnies in the storefronts along with these haggy looking witches.  They also have some Easter candies available in the stores but not the huge variety we see in all the stores in the states - starting after Valentine's Day. The children, while they are quite cute in their costumes (see picture), dress as witches and folklore tells that on Thursday before Easter (skärtorsdagen in Swedish) the witches flew off on broomsticks to dance with the devil at Blåkulla.  The holiday lasts the entire weekend, but beginning the celebration on the Thursday before Easter, Swedish children go door-to-door receiving candies or coins and spreading Easter cheer.  You will notice in the picture the Swedish witch doesn’t look like the witch of the Halloween as we know it… or the witch I didn’t want Annie walking with in the kindergarten parade.  On the Easter Sunday they usually have a smorgåsbord of food which is similar to the Christmas feast.



This was taken from a local Swedish paper translated in English

So, not quite knowing what to expect, as Easter approached, Gary told me he had a four-day weekend and suggested we take a trip to see the fjords along western Norway.  This was an area we both wanted to visit, so I was game for a quick trip.  Little did we know what splendor awaited us.