…I recommend having fun,
because there is nothing better for people in this world
than to eat, drink, and enjoy life.
That way they will experience some happiness
along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.
…no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun.
Not even the wisest people discover everything,
no matter what they claim.
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that,
what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?
(Bridge girder washed away in the 1996 eruption north of Grimsvotn in the Vatnajokull glacier)
“Go and stand before me on the mountain,”
the LORD told him.
And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by,
and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain.
It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose,
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake,
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake there was a fire,
but the LORD was not in the fire.
And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
Reynisfjara Black Sand (Lava) Beach, Iceland
‘This is what the LORD,
the God of your ancestor David, says:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears…
(Vik i Myrdal Church, Iceland)
…how can people avoid what they don’t know
is going to happen?
None of us can hold back our spirit from departing.
None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death.
There is no escaping that obligation…
(Strokkur Geysir, Golden Circle, Iceland)
Don’t long for “the good old days.”
This is not wise.
Accept the way God does things,
for who can straighten what he has made crooked?
…God has made everything beautiful for its own time.
He has planted eternity in the human heart,
but even so,
people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work
from beginning to end.
(Þingvellir Drekkingarhylur, Iceland)
The servants who are ready and waiting for his return
will be rewarded.
I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them,
put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat!
He may come in the middle of the night
or just before dawn.
But whenever he comes,
he will reward the servants who are ready.
(Þingvellir Drekkingarhylur drowning pool, Iceland)
Beware! Guard against every kind of greed.
Life is not measured by how much you own.
…I ponder all your great works
and think about what you have done.
I lift my hands to you in prayer.
I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain.
Dyrhólaey peninsula, Iceland