Who I am and Why I’m here

Why am I here?
To share how God works in my life, trying to speak “from my scars, not my wounds”. It isn’t always pretty, but only by sharing can I bring Glory to Jesus when He wiggles His little finger and gets me out of the rut. Time and time… and time! again.
I have social anxiety with a hint of general anxiety especially when stress levels are high and particularly due to circumstances I can’t control anyway.
This blog is all about how Jesus helps me through and fights the giant, because I can’t.

Who I am…
well, that’s another ballroom dance. I’m a child of God and I’m dearly loved. That’s what I’m practicing so I can learn to see myself the way God sees me.
I am a Christian protestant, born again, a Christ-follower though I do prefer “Jesus girl”… and in His sight I’m (thankfully only) about 6 years old! I’m “out of diapers” but far from mature.
I believe that “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing!” The main thing = Jesus! A lot easier said than done, but working on it 😉

But here are a few more facts and stuff about me:

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I’m from Denmark (the tiny country up north next to Sweden and though we are very often defined as Europeans, I do very much consider myself as Scandinavian. I have way more in common with the northern neighbors than with the southern).

Age wise I have reached the age when I look my best in candlelight, which is pretty much okay as I am a romantic at heart.

I live in Japan. The western part of the Tokyo prefecture and I have about 30 min train ride to the outskirts of the metropolitan area. My heart belongs to Yokohama though, of that be there no doubt… I love the ocean and harbor!

I’m married to this Japanese guy who is just way too cute to keep my hands off… and we have a 9 year old gorgeous daughter (but I’m very partial!) Gasp… where did time go?
According to her, I’m “the best mommy ever! Because I’m the best hugger, funny and clownish”… I am definitely not like most other moms I see on campus, so I get why she tells me this, but I’m confident that I’m far from the best mommy ever because… wow… but I’m pretty sure the Lord Blessed ME with this girl because I’m right for her, so – there we go ❤

Things that I love… Breakfast at Jonathan’s, writing poetry, painting God-inspired paintings, bike rides, walks along the river, archery, reading books, writing my blog, matcha (green tea) latte, coffee with milk and Starbucks gingerbread latte during December, writing and receiving Christmas cards (yes indeed) etc.

I would love to… be able to eat and drink without gaining weight, learn Hebrew and Greek, conquer my fears and stress, study psychology, have the ability to pronounce Japanese words etc.

How do I spend my time? In daily life, I take care of my girl. She has school to attend and homework to do etc. I take her to a psychologist for therapy as she has severe anxieties as well as dyscalculia. My husband lives and work in eastern Japan and is only able to be home on weekends. I weekly have my small group of Jesus girls and we will study the armor this year. I also read with a one year old baby Christian (what a privilege!). I’m a homemaker and on the job 24/7 without holidays and I’m not whining but just stating the fact that being a homemaker is actually a job in its own right.

Enough about me – thanks for reading and if you already know me – thanks for staying with me. Love you ❤  If you just found me; Very Pleased to meet You! I hope you will stick around 😉

Testimony:

I accepted Christ as my personal savior on October 29th 2009 after my doctor shared the love from Jesus with me… It took some time, but day-by-day I began realizing how badly I wanted Jesus. I didn’t know particularly what any sin was, I just knew I wanted to believe and thus – asked Jesus into my heart. From then on He has been teaching me about Himself and sin too and it sure can get ugly at times, but… it’s worth it.
On September 10th 2011 I was baptized and after that commitment to the Lord, I began to grow…

I said, “I am falling”; but your constant love, O Lord, held me up. Whenever I am anxious and worried, you comfort me and make me glad. Psalm 94:18-19

god provides a way

 

168 thoughts on “Who I am and Why I’m here”

  1. Pingback: Light of the World Award 5.25.18 – gaillovesgod

  3. So glad I found your site via wordpress, as I just put up a site of my own last night. This is JUST beautiful. And your testimony of Jesus gave me tingles of recognition. I know how 24/7 is, as I say on my evolving website – I’m 24/7 caregiver of my brain injured daughter. As I am now almost 78 years old, this is both a continuing challenge and a blessing. With my Savior’s help, though, I can do it. I’ve bookmarked your blog and will be back.

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    1. Thank you and welcome to the blogosphere 🙏🏼. I’m sorry to hear about your daughter. But Jesus is almighty and good all the time. He’s got both of you. Looking forward to seeing you back.

      Like

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  5. Pingback: Sunshine Blogger Award 12.8.17 – gaillovesgod

  6. abigailjoy31

    Wow! Thanks for sharing! I just found your blog because I think you liked one of my quotes! I love your testimony and you and I sound so similar that I kind of want become best friends! (I also write poetry and paint and love Jesus and coffee and matcha tea!) Anyways, I am very pleased to make your acquaintance. God bless you and your family!

    Yours in Christ,

    Abigail Joy Wieser

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Jesus, coffee and a best buddy – what could possibly get better than that?!? 😉 Thank you – I will stop by your blog again soon and read more.
      Thank you for your kinds words. They are very encouraging!

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  7. michalskisgreatadventure

    Hello! It was wonderful to read your testimony, and God bless you! Anxiety is quite a battle, and I wanted to share something that I hope may become helpful to you in an everyday-sort-of-way…I’m sure you’re familiar with Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” What I learned to love about this verse is, not just the comfort that it provides, but the concrete exercise that it gives as a response to anxiety. I began, every time I felt anxiety, to specifically pray in accordance with this scripture…”Lord, I am worried about (whatever it was). But I turn it over to you and refuse to be anxious about it. I thank you for your many blessings and and ask for your peace to guard my heart and mind.” Something along those lines, whatever makes it your own, personal words describing the scripture. The important thing was to repeat it (sometimes out loud!) every time I felt anxious about something, even if it was the same thing again one minute later, whether it was once a day or a hundred times a day. It began as a relief because it was something I could actually DO in response :), and it was a simple thing that I could do anywhere, anytime, and it was directly out of Scripture. The practice of it over time set me free from anxiety completely. And when that happened, I was really humbled and excited to see come to life “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”! I have, of course, many more struggles on my journey, and many more things to learn, but I hope that this one thing that I learned may be of value to you, too! Blessings on your journey, for you and your family!

    Liked by 2 people

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  8. Pingback: Love of my Life – I am His Song – Guest post by Gail – gaillovesgod

  12. thirdwatchamerica

    Hi LeneInJapan,
    Thank you so much for your testimony! I love to hear how the Lord moves in other people’s lives, and particularly how His Spirit transformed their hearts! The study you ‘Liked’ is based upon a Sunday school class that I teach here in the U.S. It’s for 20 and 30-somethings and, interestingly, they picked the subject of Revelation to study this summer. In class we are quite a bit ahead of what I have posted, but we have friends that are on vacation who want to keep up to date with the study, so I continue to post.
    God bless you and your family! And please continue to spread the good news where you live. I have a heart for spreading the gospel in Japan, and I believe the Spirit of Jesus is working to make great in-roads there.
    In His Name,

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  13. Thank you likeing my post on Call for Fire Seminar. My blog is built upon the premise that prayer is part of the Christian’s armor, so I pray that you will drect your studies on the armor to include this meansof protection from evil and of communication with our Creator. I was refreshed by your insight concerning your growth after making the commitment of baptism. May the Lord bless you in your study, Michael

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  14. I’d like to learn psychology too! I’ve been learning Hebrew and Greek for some time now. And I would really, really like to visit Japan in the next few years.

    Thanks for visiting my post! Be highly blessed.

    Anthony.

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  16. HI Lene!
    We’ve spent quite a bit of time in Denmark, but many years ago, and more recently six month in Nagoya where we will be living from September. we loved Denmark but love Japan more – it’s God’s love more than ours, if you see what I mean. I look forward to reading your blog – in the rare moments I get time! 🙂
    God bless you – and make you a blessing!
    Stephen

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  17. stillponderinglife

    I’m not sure that I am doing this correctly, but God is telling me to have you check out Chondra Pierce (She has some videos on You Tube). Look for the ones on depression. She is a Christian comedian who honestly confronted her bout of depression publically and does a heartfelt 2-part series on what happened to her. Then check out some of her other stuff. I hope that a few minutes of laughter will help ease your pain somewhat.

    I will be praying for you and your daughter and family.

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  20. Thank you for liking my post at caregiver60.com. I found your site. Anxiety? You show how this is a disease. It isn’t something you are making up. Being bipolar II with anxiety I appreciate that. You show that just because you are a Christian does not mean you don’t need professional help. You use all avenues to cope for today. Maybe He will heal you. One day, you have the assurance that you will indeed be healed in His presence. Oh what a wonderful day that will be! For you and your daughter! And everybody said, “Amen”

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  21. Thank you for the Like on my post “Jesus, the Man in the Crowd, and Me.” It deeply saddens me what yourself and your daughter are going through, but your courage, positive outlook and reliance on Jesus, in inspiring. I have had the honor of helping several people with battles like yours find lasting freedom through Christ, in my ministry. If you would ever like more information about it, feel free to contact me (my contact info is on my blog). Keep up the good work!

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  22. littlemissbearpaw

    Hello from Wyoming, this was such an encouraging read tonight. Thank you for letting me find you by the like you left on my blog. I’ve been saved for 14 years now and still feel like a baby “Jesus girl” keep being such an amazing witness!

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  24. Camino Way 2016 Shimer

    What a great gift your writing is. I loved reading this tonight. I’m Brian. From Oregon. caminowalk2016.com is my blog. Thanks for reading today’s writing. I’m a husband and brother and lover to karen my wife of 35.5 years. We are parents to four daughters. Amazing women. And grandparents to three delightful crazy grandchildren 4.5, 21 months and 1 year old. Karen, the incredible friend to whom I’m married, and I are both clergy in the UMC at two different congregations. That’s a trip. We love laughing. Praying. Following Jesus. Reading. Karen is a renaissance woman who does everything like knit, quilt, paint, crafting, studies Spanish, etc. There’s no limit on gifting there. I love watercolor painting, took sabbatical this past fall hence my blog’s name, and was changed by Jesus in the journey of sabbatical. I’m grateful to pastor the group of people with whom I grow, impact the world, and love others. It’s a privilege.

    You have this delightful voice. So I’m wondering how did your husband and you meet between Denmark and Japan!? My karen and I met at the Seattle airport awaiting the same flight to fly to London. But that somehow seems more likely than yours!

    Grace peace and continued joy to you!
    Brian

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thank you Brian for stopping by here and leaving me a sweet note! I appreciate the encouragement.
      My husband and I were pencils for about a year and then I flew to Tokyo for a month of vacation and… the rest “is history” I suppose. Perhaps it would be a good blog post one day. It’s kind of romantic.
      Remain Blessed.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      1. Camino Way 2016 Shimer

        Yes. Write it. Love that. What a blessing to be in the plan of Jesus who is so filled with love that He shares it into and through our lives. God is the romantic too!

        Liked by 1 person

  25. Hello from near Chicago – what a lovely voice you have.

    Thanks ever so much for stopping by LivingCenter and “liking” Measureable Difference.
    And all the yeses to:
    “Jesus girl”
    “I look my best in candlelight,” and
    “eat and drink without gaining weight.”

    Stop by anytime…xoxox

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    1. Aww – thanks so much!
      It’s good to have you for a visit. I do look forward to visiting your blog again in the future.
      – And yes, I’ll definitely shout to us being “Jesus girls”. The best state to be in ❤
      Remain Blessed
      -Lene

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  26. I appreciate your “about” page and your honesty in your blog. May the Lord bless you and keep you and provide all the grace you need. It is sufficient, even when we think we are falling. From a fellow traveler also in need of grace.

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  28. Greetings from Texas! I’m pleased you dropped by my blog.
    I am perpetually amazed and always excited to hear the stories of how Jesus finds people all over the world. In Isaiah 49:1-7 we see how He loves everyone. These verses are a discourse of Christ to the world. It is as though we are seated around Him as He teaches, much like His 12 disciples.
    There is nothing to correspond to this discourse in the religions of the world. Here is One who is looking at the whole world, and He is looking at it as the Servant of God who is come as Savior of the world. Every religion is confined to an ethnic group, tribe or nation – not worldwide. But this Deity is the Living God, Creator of mankind.
    This defines the uniqueness of Jesus!
    Stay in the Word of God and keep growing!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  32. Hi there

    Thanks for the follow! How have you been and how’s your blog doing?
    I don’t know if you know that I moved my blog to a self-hosted platform. This has prevented me from connecting with WordPress bloggers like I used to. I would still like to remain in contact with your blog. Do you have an RSS feed I can subscribe to?
    If you would still like to follow my blog, may I add you to my mailing list? I send out one email per day with all the blogs posted for the day including blogging tips. You can also unsubscribe at any time if you feel you want to stop receiving the emails. If you are happy for me to subscribe you, please send me your email address.
    Also, I created a blogger tips group to connect with all my long last WordPress blogger friends, and to help all of us to learn from each other. I would love for you to share your knowledge in the group and connect with other bloggers. Here’s the link:
    Blogger Tips Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1601156120192716/)

    Finally, here’s a blog I thought you may find interesting:
    The Ripple Effect of Blogging

    Best regards,
    Greta
    Founder of Healthy Living
    http://www.healthyliving894.com

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    1. Thanks for the interest. My two blogs are both doing well and are growing. They both have RSS feeds in the sidebar. So glad to hear you branched out and got your own platform! Wishing you the best of luck with that. I’ll check in from time to time. Many Blessings in Jesus.

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  33. I enjoyed reading about you and the idea of you just out of rompers, at whatever your real age (I would never dream of asking a lady her age – I’m old fasioned like that I guess)
    As for myself Jesus and I go way back into my school days, when the Bible was read aloud in assembly

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  34. Enjoyed your blog! I to am a stay-at-home mommy. I’m blessed with 12+ babies…well most are grown now. My last is 7. Also, I have 7 grands! I love the Lord Jesus and have been saved for 26 years. Were looking for His soon return! Amen? Amen! So keep up the great work of spreading His love! Be blessed!

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  38. Hi, LeneinJapan,
    I found someone in you that agrees with the fact that this pursuit to understand Jesus can be challenging at times. I am so thankful.
    Thank you for stopping over to check out my first blog, I feel inspired by Jesus to share His teachings. I am glad to see that there is a community of others here that attempt to describe their journeys with Jesus, as well. I’m excited to learn of this community and to uncover, the things other people have learned of Jesus here.

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    1. Hi Carol. Thanks for coming over. I like what you have begun and done so far with your blog. Just keep writing and follow other blogs, like posts etc Soon you will see that we have a big community here and we also pray for each other and some of us even become blog-buddies 😉 Welcome. Pursuing Jesus is a life long wonderful walk of faith and nope, it’s by no means always easy. But Jesus is worth it… 😉 I look forward to seeing you thrive with us. Lord Bless you! Lene

      Liked by 1 person

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    2. AWETHENTIQ

      Jesus is easy to understand. But religion complicates matters.

      On 16 Oct 2016 01:49, “Wrestling with Faith – Dancing with Jesus” wrote:

      > ancientofways1225 commented: “Hi, LeneinJapan, I found someone in you that > agrees with the fact that this pursuit to understand Jesus can be > challenging at times. I am so thankful. Thank you for stopping over to > check out my first blog, I feel inspired by Jesus to share His teachin” >

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