This summer God has blessed us wit a lot of time with our grandchildren. Yesterday we had 6 of them with us and we had a lot of joy together. Taj Kristian, Jai Ruben and Sunniva have just arrived from England. Jakob, Sara and Lars Benjamin live in Bergen and we see them more than the other grandchildren. Earlier Jonathan and Mathilde have been with us for more than a week. Today Kristina and Daniel, who live in Tromsø in the northern part of Norway will come as well.

I love my grandchildren. They bring me great joy. We have a lot of fun when we are together. Grandchildren enrich my life. I am still hoping for more grandchildren!

In April I started to meditate on the prophetic ministry as I was reading in the Books of Samuel. I even started to blog about it on my Norwegian website "Kva seier Herren?". During June and July I took a pause in blogging about it, but continued to meditate as I read through the Books of Samuel, the Kings and the Chronicles. From August I have taken up writing about it again on my Norwegian website. I have so many things I am working on at the moment that I don’t find time to translate it into English, but if some of my friends will help me, I will be very grateful!

Yesterday I had a telephone call from a saint from the northern part of Norway. He said he had a word from God to me, then he corrected himself by saying that actually he had a command from God to me. I was listening carefully. This is the command he gave me: "Take rest!"

I have heard that several times the last few months and now I wonder why the Lord is giving me a command through this saint from the north. The last month I have not been doing any of my ordinary work. I have been resting from my normal work, and still I am having this command. I wonder why?

I am getting better and better! I want to say thousands thanks "Tusen takk!" to all my friends for  encouraging comments, good wishes, prayers and emails. Some express their heartfelt care in this way: "I am glad that you are at last listening to your wife. All great men of Faith sometimes have to listen to their wives. Even if they have to be pushed to it like Abraham!!"

Others are translating the Norwegian idiom on biting the sour apple into proper English. Paul left four alternatives and Matthew decided which one was the best. Well done!

I find it very interesting that when the English people speak of biting the bullet, the Norwegian choose a more peaceful, organic and softer approach to explain the bitter experience of swallowing one’s pride or giving up resistance to advice. The reason must be that most of us have never ever touched a bullet, far from biting it! But sour apples used to be around everywhere, especially when I was a child. The sour apples grow on wild apple trees and are quite small. But my father also used to grow sour apples in our garden. They were certainly not small but rather huge and hard! If you tried to eat them in the authum they were so sour that you never tried again! But my father harvested them when the frost came and then he stored them under the veranda safe from the winter frost. We forgot all about them, but in March he brought them forth. A miracle had happened. They were no longer hard, nor bitterly sour, but rather freshly sweet, or perhaps sweet and sour. At Easter the sour apples become sweet! When one take one’s medicine and swallow the bitter pill, healing is normally the outcome!

I can’t see that to bite the bullet can have any such effects as biting the sour apple have on people. But perhaps some of my English friends could tell me how many teeth they broke when they tried to bite the bullet!

The fever I have been fighting has been rising steadily until Saturday when I had to "bite in the sour apple," as we say in Norway, and take my wife’s advice to see a doctor. The doctor told me that I had pneumonia and gave me some medicine to take for one week. Sunday evening Per Kristing, one of the elders in the church, came to anoint me and pray for me. Today, I feel so much better that I had to post the good news.

The last two day I have been fighting a flu or a cold. I have been feverish and not feeling well. On top of that I have had to finish some decoration work at home. I hope to be back with some good news very soon!

This morning I had an interesting email from William, a twenty one year old student intercessory missionary. He wanted to know more of the concept of Green Trees. He had come to understand that the concept of Green Trees represent mature prophets mentoring younger prophets. Now he is asking for my help to find some Scriptures that clearly explain the concept in this way.

I had a problem. I am not familiar with the concept of Green Trees. However, I was stirred in my heart by the topic and want to explore the concept further. I sense God wants to say something to me and many others through this concept. During my recent visit to India, a prophet prophesied Psalm 92:12-15 to me. In these verses the righteous are spoken of as green trees, – full of life and vitality, – and fruitfulness.

I invite all my friends to read the request I received, the answer I gave, and to join me in exploring the concept, and sharing all insight with me.

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