I'm bored!

I'm amused at how quickly I can become instantly bored. Any lull in my workload leaves me feeling that I have nothing to do. Usually this doesn't last long, so I really need to relax and enjoy the quieter moments :-)

This does lead me to ask the question, "Does God ever get bored?" You would think that with all the troubles our little planet has created for itself that the answer would be an emphatic No!

Yet take a look through a powerful telescope and what will you find? New Stars are being born every day. Within each Super Nova you'll find the celestial birth place of these new stars.

It is God's very nature to create so we can be confident when we stand before God and pray as the Psalmist did.... "Create in me a clean heart oh God," that He most certainly will.

What's your colour?

My temperament has one big downfall. In life I often tend to view matters as being either black or white. It's yes or no and nothing in between. I thank God so much for the wonderful people he has brought into my life who are teaching me that there are even many shades of grey.

I was thinking today about what colour I would associate with happiness but could not come up with a single specific colour as different colours have the ability to stir different emotions in each of us.

Are there any specific colours that God thinks of when he thinks of us? I can think of two. "Though your sins were as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow". God sees our sins as scarlet because that is the colour of the blood sacrifice needed to cleanse our sins.

White symbolizes purity and new beginnings. It is also symbolic of loyal love, openness and truth. All wonderful traits of our relationship with God. Indeed we can praise that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, and His mercies are new every morning!

Sound of thunder

It is believed that the sound of thunder is caused when a lightning bolt super heats the cool air around it causing a sonic wave that then causes the noise of thunder.

Strange though that even understanding the cause of thunder cannot change the fear that is instilled with most people, but particularly animals. This natural phenomenon drives many into hiding.

Spiritually there are times in our lives when even understanding the cause of a situation we may face, still doesn't dampen the fear associated with these events.

That is why the word of God is there to strengthen us. 365 times God says in his word, "Do not fear". When all around us seems hopeless we need to draw on God's strength and know that nothing can separate us from the love of God. He is ever present and ever near!

Put that lip away!

I've always been the type of girl who knows what she wants. As a kid that got me into a ton of trouble as I always wanted my own way. I'll never forget my father's reprimands of, "put that lip away," due to my excessive pouting. Lol!

Growing older, the lessons in attitude adjustment became even harder, although I can confidently say that in the last few years I've seen some progress.

A wise man once said, " Your attitude determines your altitude." In other words, how you handle problems now will determine your success level. If we handle problems now with conviction, yet grace, we are bound to see our problems resolved.

Enthusiusiusiasm

Nothing frustrates me more than people with an apathetic attitude towards their work. Their attitude is, “If it doesn't affect me, I really don't have to care or put in effort”. I find this a major irritation. That raises the question, what is our ethical duty to deliver service excellence?

Colossians 3:23 reads, “Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people.” In other words, what would you do if Jesus was watching? I've been accused of being too pushy at times, but having an attitude of excellence has always been a main driver in everything I put my hands to. I try to never take on a task unless I know I can do it at 100%.

As Christians, the best testimony we can give to the world is to be passionate about what we do. Passion creates action and action means that your ship can be easily steered by God in the right direction.

So how about it? Are you going to show the world your enthusiusiusiasm?????? :-)

Sticky toes

I never meant for it to happen, it just did. Not being fond of office coffee, I take my own coffee and fructose to work. Some where between scooping in the sugar and packing it away, something slipped and down went my sugar.

It landed everywhere. On the floor, in the draw, under my feet and between my toes. Now you wouldn't believe it but washing your feet in the office bathroom basin can be quite tricky, especially if you're not as agile as you used to be. :-D

Ever contemplative I tried desperately all day to find the "morale of the story", but nada! Nothing! There's just no salvation for the clumsy. Except maybe....... That life just happens. Not everything has a higher purpose.

Maybe we just have to learn to lighten up and have good chuckle. Now here's to hoping the ants don't carry me away tomorrow! :-)

Snap it!

No lies, someone you know, or maybe you yourself may be facing a real life crisis. I'm talking the big stuff; financial trouble, sickness, addiction, broken relationship, employment failure, house maintenance disasters.... The list goes on. A major life altering problem that will change the trajectory of your life path.

Paul and Silas were no strangers to turmoil. Paul himself told of his toils. Shipwreck, beatings, imprisonment, hunger and cold. Once again these two ministers of the gospel found themselves in prison.

Caste away any images you may have of prison life today, there are no words that can describe the horror they were going through. Cold wet, filthy, unhygenic conditions that would have destroyed a weaker soul. Somehow though these two brothers in Christ found the courage to dig down deep and start praising God in the midst of their trouble.

Then the unimaginable happened! Their chains broke loose and they were free. In the midst of turmoil is when we need to offer up to God the sacrifice of praise. This praise has the power to snap the shakkels that bind you and set in motion the power of God working in your life!

If you are not doing so yet, raise your voice and worship God!

365

Today's blog marks a very important milestone in the Growing with God timeline and will be a little longer than normal. This blog is my 365^th blog. It has taken a little over a year to reach this important marker and it a testament to a very important change in my life. I have shared this testimony with very few people and feel the time is right to share it now.

There were a combination of events that lead me to start writing the blog. Encouragement from friends and family to put my thoughts in writing but then there was my little secret. You see at the time I started writing I was in the middle of a deep depression. I could not figure out a way to escape the darkness, until I started with this one very small step.

I decided to look for just one positive event or thought in my day that I could thank God for or find inspiration from. I felt that if I could do this, I would be able to share with others how to practically live out their faith on a daily basis. In the beginning it was very difficult but as I started writing more and more, it became easier. Soon, thoughts of my writing consumed my day, even though I was working and productive, my mind would constantly wander to the blog. I soon found too that the negativity that had gripped my mind, simply melted away.

You see when we worship God through thoughts of praise, we exalt him and God becomes bigger than our problems. Soon you see the good in life and that God has a divine plan for you and that as we submit to him and surrender our hearts to him, that he truly does guide and direct your path to good and wonderful things.

I have received many short but beautiful testimonies from those who receive the blog via email and it has confirmed over and over again, that writing this blog is exactly what God desires for my life. My continued prayer is that the blogs will continue to inspire and encourage others to see God's goodness, kindness and grace in operation in our daily lives.

I hope too that you will encourage your colleagues, friends and family to join in following the blog, by subscribing in any of the following ways:

• Email the word: Subscribe to GWG.Ronwyn@gmail.com
• Website: http://growingwithgodbyronwyn.blogspot.com
• Facebook: GrowingwithGod by Ronwyn
• Twitter: RonwynHughes

God is real! Have faith in him!

Wishing you all grace in God.

Ronwyn Hughes

What more must I say?

"I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language. Little surprise as these were words spoken to Moses in Exodus 3:13-15. “I am who I am”. God felt no need to explain himself or who is.... I just am! God has no identity issues.

I don't know about you, but I reckon anyone who holds the universe in his hand, doesn't need to explain himself. It really is a case of look around you. Look up and see the clouds by day, the moon and the stars at night. Look left and right and our world is filled with beautiful people, awe inspiring wildlife and geological wonders that leave you breathless at our planets beauty.

God's desire for us is that we too would have a Strong self image and love for ourselves. He wants us to know and understand that our source is in him and because of that our identity is secured in Christ. When we look in the mirror in the morning, we should be able to say, “I am complete in Christ, and my life is hidden, In Christ, In God!”

Sugar Plaque

Last night in a sleepy daze, I made the mistake of tucking into some left over apple pie from my dinner party on Saturday.  There were also some sweeties that needed attention :-) Not too long after that, the worst happened......I woke up and wasn’t able to lie still let alone sit still. Lol!


In a daze that could have easily seen me end up in a strait jacket at “Groen Dakkies” insane asylum, I walked around the house, up and down the stairs, waiting for the sugar plaque to wear off. Right by now you’re laughing, but it wasn’t very funny last night.


Some Christians get like that about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They go from one anointing service to the next, just to get another “touch from heaven” to see them through to the next service. To have the true strength of the Holy Spirit means that he is your source of strength, day by day. He is not just our source of a feel good moment, but a sustained life force that works within us constantly.

How's your antenna?

It's amazing to me, how many products today use antenna. TV's, radio, cell phone's (I still remember the aerial on my first cell, was quite amusing) and I'm sure there are many more that I just can't think of right now.

Noticed that when your antenna isn't quite working right, you get a hazy picture or crackling sound? That could be because it is not picking up the right signal from the nearest base station. Base stations take the signal and strengthen it before sending it out back as radio waves to the next base station.

Our relationship with the Holy Spirit is radio signal to God. If we have a close relationship with the Holy Spirit, we can hear the voice of God clearly. If we haven't tuned ourselves into our relationship with the Holy Spirit, we will struggle to hear God.

Have you asked the Holy Spirit to come into your life? If not, it's simple. Just pray: “Precious Holy Spirit, I ask you to come into my life and be my comforter and councillor. In Jesus name, Amen.”

Wow a 32' HD

I have a friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, so let's call her Sarah. She shared this testimony with me. I requested her permission to share it with my readers as I feel this story is such a beautiful motivation towards faith in action. Enjoy!

I have to brag, not in myself but in the incredible faith of my loving mother. A short while ago my mom entered an in store competition for a 32' HD TV. Unknown to me, she prayed, "Lord, if I win this TV, I'll give it to Sarah."
A short while later, my mom received a phone call to say she had won the TV. When the package arrived, curiosity got the better of her and she decided to see how it would look in their bedroom. My parents decided they liked it and wanted to keep it.

Feeling guilty for not honouring her word, my mother again prayed, "Lord, if you want Sarah to have a new TV, please provide the finances for another one." It wasn't long before my 'enjoying her retirement' mom, found a temp job that paid for a TV... I mean the exact amount!
Before I knew it, the package arrived. I'm still in shock at this wonderful blessing. I suppose the secret to this miracle was that it was an unselfish prayer, that placed the desires of another person ahead of their own.

I'm so unbelievably blessed and grateful! Thank you mom for praying a prayer, that I most certainly didn't have the faith to pray for myself :-)

Hello Peter

If there is one thing I can thank one of my ex-bosses for, it would be for introducing me to the Hello Peter website. After months of trying to resolve a particular problem with a supplier and not getting the desired result, I eventually turned to the website for assistance. Sure enough, 2 or 3 working days later, the problem is fixed.

You see, so often in life we put up with bad service, just because we don't want to make a fuss. This however is not God's desire for us. We often forget that our God is a God of Justice and of Mercy. He forgives readily when we repent, but he also judges those who refuse to repent. As Christians, we don't have to be door mats, we have a right to stand up for ourselves and get decent service and treatment.

We should remember then that the same is true of how we treat other people. We need to give them grace if they are new to a job, learning or inexperienced, but once the required knowledge is gained, we have a right to expect of them to deliver on the required task.

Definition of sanity

The thought struck me this week, that most of us have heard the saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting a different result.” I realised that the converse of that must also be true. In order to find sanity, we must do something different.

On 14 February 2011, I posted a blog called, “Walking through darkness”. It was a highlights version of a longer teaching. It focused on how to actively move yourself out of depression to success. I have used this technique many times and have found it very successful. The main focus though centres around taking various actions to actively walk out of the situation you are in.

Many of us loose hope because we feel that life has us against a brick wall with no way out. The book of James talks about temptations and trials interchangeably and it is in 1 Corinthians 10v13 that we read, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

This means there is always a door in the wall. We have to choose to go through that door though and guess what? Opening the door requires action. Maybe your first action is sitting with a friend, family member or counsellor to gain some perspective of your situation, but ultimately, you will have to make decisions to make changes in your life....until, you reach a point of success.

It is possible! Go for it and dig a little deeper to make that change.

Orbiting 2 sun's

Nasa's Kepler project has just announced the existance of another solar system where a planet orbits 2 sun's. Wow, wow and wow again. The vast expanses of our Universe never cease to amaze me.

It really got me thinking though about the vaste expanses of seeming nothingness that exist simply in our own solar system. Think of it.... It takes ages to travel to some of our closest stellar planets, and the planets the Keplar project are discovering are light years away.

But the question I must ask is what makes up the sheer nothingness we would travel through to reach our nearest planet. I can only think of One thing............. God, God, God almighty. His creation makes me sing his praise like there is no tomorrow.

The Psalmist said it well! "WHAT is man that thou art mindful of him, the son of man that thou carest for him". He is a great, great, great and awesome God and yet our every cry he hears.

Oh God! Let me bow before you and worship for eternity for you are endless!

Noisy cricket

I'm always amazed at how a tiny litte insect like a cricket can make so much noise. God's going to have to explain that to me one day. However nothing confirms that you are outdoors at night more than hearing the crickets chirp.

They have a job to do, no matter how small their part in the food chain and circle of life is. They go about declaring their presence with total boldness.

Our purpose is to declare God's glory to the earth. So why do we hide away and give less of ourselves to this world than we should? The secret is in how we see ourselves and our identity.

Until we see ourselves as God sees us, we will never be able to boldly proclaim God's message of hope. Maybe it is time we change the mirror we are looking into. When our mirror is the word of God, our reflection will gradually change form into the image of God and then we can fulfill our purpose.

Enjoying the green green grass

Some people just have to complain about everything. So our garden service took a break, big deal. Okay I admit there are a few gardens that look a little..... Jungle like, especially the one behind me where the owner had laid fertilizer just before they went on leave, LOL!

There's one little person who's not complaining. My little Honey Bear. Kitty thought the long grass was just the coolest thing possible. I suppose it goes back to the 'Is the glass half full or half empty' question?

God's desire for us is to learn to see the good in life through the little things. Didn't he say, "Consider the Lillies of the field, they do not toil, yet God provides for them".

God cares about the little things, the things we even forget about, he remembers, cares and provides.

Mango pip

I don't know why we did it, probably just because we could. I remember my sister and I eating Mango's. Once all the lucious fruit was gone, we'd pretend the pip was soap and rub it all over our bodies before rinsing off with the garden hose.

After munching my Mango yesterday and feeling how nice and rough the pip was, I couldn't resist using it in the shower, the same way I did as when we were kids. The pip made a wonderful natural exfoliator (darn, there goes an idea for a good beauty product).

An exfoliator's job is to remove all the dead skin cells, allowing space for new cells to be formed more rapidly, thereby increasing skin cell rejuvenation, leaving a younger glowing skin.

I felt God saying it is time to do a little spiritual exfoliation and allow his word to rejuvenate us this year. We need to get rid of the dead aspects of our lives and live spiritually renewed on a daily basis.

Warned, once again!

Sad to say if you live in Joburg it's just a matter of time before you are going to land up in an accident. I know, I've had a few. Over the years God has trained me through these incidents, on how to be sensitive to his Holy Spirit warning me of danger.

At first the lessons came from warnings I'd ignored and then landed up in an accident. Then later they came from warnings heard and heeded. Every time I obeyed, no doubt I would drive past an accident that day. Each time the warning senses grew softer but equally important.

I say all this, because on Friday morning, once again as I felt hesitant to leave home and waited a few minutes before leaving, I again drove past an accident on the way to work. God's word tells us that he will show things to come.

That's not a pshycic ability, it's a sense of knowing, a hunch, that once confirmed let's you know you've experienced hearing the voice of God. My prayer is that you will get to know God in a deeper way this year through learning what the voice of God sounds like to you.

One of those days

Today was one of those days. You know, when nothing goes right from morning till night.....! A little while after being home though and one meeting down, I decided a shower was called for. What a feeling, felt like I could start the day over again, all be it after 5pm. The next meeting was a no show, but it didn't matter. I was home, warm and comfortable and felt I could tackle anything.

There is just something about being clean that gives us an invincible spirit. God's word promises us the same fresh start. Isaiah 1:18 reads, "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

The sacrifice Christ paid for on the cross was sufficient penalty for us to have all our sins washed away! Isn't God amazing! When we come to him and repent he is faithful to forgive us.

Chump change

Chump change doesn't do well in my pocket.....it usually ends up in the company vending machine :-) The lack of change in my pocket has some interesting consequences. You see having a limited amount of lunch and fruit at the office means that when my stomach starts growling at 4pm, I'd better make a plan to get home for dinner.

This obviously has the positive outcome of making me hurry up with my work for the day so that I can leave. You see it's about knowing your habits and shortcoming's and finding a way to divert your energy to the things you are supposed to do.

When we first come to Christ we are usually so enthusiastic about our new discovery that attending church, reading your bible, and generally spending time with God come quite naturally. There will come a time though when spending time with God may become a bit more difficult.

To help resolve this dilemma, it helps to start new habits. Arrange to meet a friend at church, join a fellowship group or maybe get involved in a church project. When we are connected to people and make ourselves accountable to spiritual elders, that's when our relationship with God has the best chance of growth.

Noah's stormy night light

One glance at the deep red seeds nestled inside of a pomegranate fruit explains why the word "garnet" comes from the Latin word "granatus," meaning "grain" or "seed." There are many myths about garnets but my favourite is the biblical legend is that Noah hung this gem on the ark to light his way through the dark and stormy nights of God's wrath.

Doesn't God's word tell us this truth: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”. When we give attention to his word and allow it to penetrate our soul, we will find that God is truly our guide. His word works this way through remembrance.

When we encounter difficult circumstances in life, we will remember the text. As we remember we find strength to stay anchored in our relationship with God and hold onto him. January's birthstone is the garnet. Let this stone remind you to keep God's word implanted within your spirit.

Water baby

The one thing that gets me going back to the gym in summer is my passionate love for being in water. I just love the feel of water rolling over my skin. My sister and I used to spend hours on end in the pool. On a good summer's Saturday we would wake up, put on our cozzies, then into the pool. That's how we spent most summer Saturday's. Wonderful memories.

In some ways, nothing has changed, my passions still drive me today. Truth is, I'm sure most of us are like that one way or another. So how do we become passionate about our relationship with God?

For me, the secret is in having a clear understanding for the price Jesus paid on the cross for our sins. His passion for us took him to the cross, I reckon the least I can do is be passionate about my commitment and relationship with him.

Have you found the passion you need to serve God? If not, ask God for a personal revelation of what he has done for you.

As the clock ticks

There is just something about the New Year that gets us all excited. For some reason, as the clock ticks the dial past 12 midnight and we turn over the calendar year, it helps us realise one of the universes most basic, yet profound truths...... there are always opportunities to start over. Scripture supports this theory. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

When we embrace opportunities to start over they come with a responsibility. This responsibility is to do a little planning. We need to learn from the mistakes of the past and make the changes necessary to put our life path on a different trajectory.

One of my New Year traditions is to not set resolutions, but set goals. Goals help focus our actions so that we can make the decisions necessary to ensure those goals come about. I know life is tough and we will suffer set backs to our goals from time to time, but if we remain focused and the goal is in line with God's plan for our lives......we will eventually succeed!