Patiently waiting

One of the joys and frustrations of sewing seeds is waiting to see what will germinate. I'm learning that I haven't quite figured out the full potential of seeds and what the germination rate will be and am tending to sew too many seeds in one tray. I tried removing some seedlings from a tray too quickly and they were too fragile to move and I ended up having to chuck the whole tray and start over.

That's the secret. In life we plant seeds but because become impatient, we rip the ground up before the seedlings are ready and as a result destroy the crop. We need to learn to patiently wait until the seeds are ready before moving them in order to get the best result.

Patience is a fruit of the spirit and as with all fruit needs time to grow. As we mature in God we will learn how to operate in patience allow God to bring forth the fruit we desire in our lives. Good things do come to those who patiently learn to wait on the Lord.

Harley on scooter

The other day in traffic I spotted a sight that made me laugh out loud. A guy on a scooter was wearing a Harley Davidson jacket. Well, I don't need to explain the irony. The only thing I could think of is; this guy must have the most positive attitude in life.

It was obvious this guy had vision. He wore his heart on his....jacket and it was clear as to what direction he wanted to take his life in. The amazing thing is that I can bet my bottom dollar that if I had to run into this bloke in a few years time, he'll be driving that Harley.

God says, “write the vision and make it plain.” Be clear as to what you want in life and put your heart and soul into it. That way you gain momentum and with momentum on your side it is easy for God to steer you in the right direction.

Save regularly

Don't you just hate it when you are in the midst of a complex task or calculation and the power goes down and along with it all your workings. That's why when working with computers it is important to save your work regularly. That way your data is stored and safe.

How do we secure the word of God in our heart and memory. Through repetition. The more often we read a passage, the more the words will resonate with our spirit.

The human spirit was created to seek God and when we read God's word, our spirit recognises our creator and the connection is made.

I encourage you to make time to read God's word regularly.

Between the eye balls

I read a snippet from my Joyce Meyer amplified that hit me right between the eye balls. I've been praying about a certain situation in which I really need change. The question is, why must God bring change when we can't even be grateful for what we have? In most cases, once we have the change a few months later we'll end up complaining about it anyway.

I hear you saying I wouldn't do that and that's what I thought too. Then God reminded me of Israel. For 400 years they groaned and complained about being slaves in Egypt, God freed them and what do they do but complain about being in the desert.

You would think that knowledge of thwe word would produce instant obedience, but sadly it doesn't. It still requires a surrendered heart. One that says, "Lord, forgive me for my attitude."

Garden wars

My new neighbour Tracy has taken a great interest in developing her garden. That gave me the kick in the butt I needed to get to work on mine. So far I am getting whipped in the front yard, but I think my developing herb garden is going to be show stopper once it is fully stocked.

This very friendly rivalry is having great health benefits. Gardening is really good exercise and being outdoors soaking up the sun is just wonderful. I often wonder about Eden, about how beautiful it must have been. I think in some way, just tending my own garden is allowing me a small piece of the joy Adam must have had tending the gardens in Eden.

We've heard it said, love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life. Indeed I think that would be our equivalent of Eden, but in real life that is just not always possible. I think that is why God gives us spaces and places where we can reflect, come to a place of peace and draw strength from his presence.

Block printed

Block printing is a technique for printing text, images and patters used widely throughout East Asia both as a method of printing on textiles and later on paper. The earliest surviving examples from China in 220.

Block printing requires an image to be pressed from a block onto another object. Likewise we need to allow Christ's image to be imprinted on us. How do we do that? When we read the word we need to reflect on its meaning and allow that to imprint on our soul.

An imprinted life isn't perfect, sometimes there are smudges on the edges or the ink runs, but it retains the pattern of the original. God doesn't expect us to be perfect, but rather that we should strive attain the image of Christ. Are you willing to allow Christ to imprint your life?

Ancient origins

I was meditating recently at how amazing computer technology is and how awesome it is to be able to type and publish a written work internationally in a matter of minutes. For the most part it seems as if the this development has been over the last 50 years or so, but truth be told, printing has ancient origins.

That made me wonder what we can learn about this ancient development as to date the bible is still the most popular book by printing volume. The use of round cylinder seals for rolling an impress onto clay goes back to the ancient Mesopotamian civilization before 3000 BC.

We sometimes get impatient with God thinking, “why is he taking so long to get this sorted out”, but here God had to wait for mankind to learn and invent more effective methods of recording data before he could bring Christ into our world. This so that the gospel would be recorded and documented as accurately as possible through to our time.

Don't grow impatient with God while he is working in your life. Know that he has everything planned exactly as it should be.

Good acting

Good acting allows you the opportunity to buy into the character and to be drawn into the story. I've found myself many a time closing my eyes or with my feet up and my knees under my chin with fear because I've allowed myself to get sucked into the story.

Why is it then that when we delve into scripture, the words fall dead off the page? I'll tell you, lack of imagination. When we open the pages of scripture we put on our holier than thou faces and forget that these were real people, with real lives.

It may help to close your eyes for a moment and picture a busy dusty market place, or the waves crashing over a small fishing boat. Maybe we even need to smell the fish. When we allow scripture to become alive again and see the stories with 3D vision, we will be able to see the humanity and marvel at how God to chose to work through mere mortals like us.

I'm sure Jonah was glad to unwrap himself from the sea weed tangled round his face as he crawled up the beach smelling like vomit. Open your eyes, your ears, your sense of smell and feel... feel Jesus!

I can only laugh!

As I left home for work this morning, the power cut as I was trying to make my morning coffee, which left me rather miffed. I arrived at work and found that my computer was having an identity crisis and had lost its IP address. This was followed by our complex managing agent having a server crash, this when I needed to get some urgent stuff done. All this before lunch time.

Normally a morning like this would have left me flustered.  Today somehow I managed to retain my sense of humour and could only laugh at all the challenges.  I can only think that this might have been due to the fact that my whole body was still sore from lugging +- 140 kg's of soil as well as plants around my garden.  The pain being a constant reminder of the fun I'd had this weekend.

God told Joshua that his people should always have his word bound around their forehead.  Why did he say that?  Well if something is right in front of you and the is a constant reminder then we cannot forget about it.  God desires that we should meditate on the word to the point where it is able to constantly guide our actions. 

Do you have God's word in plain sight as a reminder?  Maybe you need to find your own way to do so. 

Make over

Usually once a year, I love to put in a huge effort on one day to make changes to my garden that can have a beautiful make over effect. After the abomination my garden service committed, Saturday had to be the day to do the fix.

I love the feeling the next morning of opening the curtains and beholding a beautiful new feature in the garden. It is such a refreshing to the soul and brings me great joy. Is it possible to experience the same phenomenon in the spirit? Yes, it is!

Normally we would use the word retreat to symbolize a “moving away from battle,” but it is also very fit for a time of refreshing. We can do this by taking time away from our normal routine and spending time in quiet meditation. This doesn't have to be to a resort but it could be in the midst of other peoples business too.

I did this once by taking a days leave and going out for breakfast to Lanseria, just for fun. It is a rather noisy little airport but great fun to behold people as they prepare to travel. I used the time to make some notes about some issues I need to address in my life.

When last did you take a short time out just to focus on God and his will for your life? Maybe its time to do so now.

Hacked

That's what I came home to find, my giant Strelitzia had been hacked back and more than half its foliage cut off. This after my instruction to the garden service was to “remove the babies and plant at the complex entrance” and “remove DEAD leaves.” With all the work I've been putting into the garden recently, I was hugely upset.

Yes, leaves do grow back but on a Strelitzia they tend to just keep growing up like a palm, so any leaves removed from lower down will most likely not regrow. I never thought I would get emotional about a plant but this beautiful plant has been the focal point of my garden from the day I first got stuck in.

Once the anger subsides I suppose I'll have to put my creativity cap back on and try to rescue the situation. The devil loves to stump us with a set back. What he doesn't realize is that the creative power of God resides in all of us. Didn't God say, “let us create man in our own image?”

God will guide us in a set back and with his creative power at work in us he will rebuild and restore us to his divine plan.

It's all art

Our home cell project for tonight was doing an art project. With my current frame of mind that was right up my ally. It is amazing how getting involved in art outside the office can inspire problem solving at the office.

We've had a "problem" account that has been difficult to manage. With a little training and insight I think I may have found a solution. We will hopefully begin testing next week. Spreadsheets require as much an artistic eye as a logical one to make them work.

Art requires perspective. When we look at an artwork you need to behold the smaller detail and the wider picture in order to interpret it.

Likewise scripture requires interpretation. You need to examine the individual versus as well as the chapter and book in order to interpret it correctly.

How is your scriptural artistic eye?

Twin Towers

I will never forget the moment on 11 September 2001 when I first heard about the terrorist attacks at the world trade centre twin towers in New York. My first thought was this must be a sick joke or massive hoax. Sadly though, it was no joke. Arriving home to find all normal TV programming interrupted as the world stopped and watched this tragedy unfold.

The combined death toll from the attack on the twin towers, the pentagon and the failed attempt on a plane that crashed away from it's target left thousands dead. I simply do not have the capacity to understand how any human being could inflict pain and death on such a massive scale. For those who lost a loved one, this indeed was the day the earth stood still. In honour of them we do take a moment to stop and remember.

Jesus disciples faced a day like that too. That fateful day when Jesus took, what the disciples at least thought would be, his last breath. The trial, the Via dela Rosa, the blood, the thorns, the sword, the cross, all must have been more overwhelming than they possibly could have imagined.

Were they not the ones who had walked with this man Jesus? They had seen him feed the 5000, they had seen the blind eyes opened, the lame man walk and then there was Lazarus....raised from the dead.

To those who lost loved ones at the twin towers and Jesus disciples, death must have seemed the ultimate victor! But....then....it happened! Mary had been to the tomb and the stone was rolled away. The Angels....the message...could it be?

Yes, it is true! Jesus did rise from the dead. The testimony of his life rings loud, not only in the pages of scripture, but in the lives this gospel has changed, mine included. I met Jesus and accepted him as my Lord and Saviour when I was 11. Have you invited him into your life to be your Saviour? If not, I invite you to do so today.....while we remember!

How does your garden grow?

There was an old children's poem that started with, “Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” I've given much thought recently about how to germinate seeds. Do I just stick it in the ground? Do I go back to primary school biology and put them in moist cotton wool? Do I soak them in a jar of water?

Then I realized, nature does all this without question or stress about how to make the seed sprout. All it needs is soil, water and sunlight and there it grows. How often do we stress about how to get our relationship with God to grow. Must I fast once a week? Do I have to get on my knees when I pray? Do I have to pray a certain way for God to hear me?

1 Corinthians 13 speaks as much about spiritual maturity as it does about love. After all, it doesn't matter what we do, if we don't do it out of love, it means nothing. So what are our soil, water and sunlight of Christian growth? Faith, Hope and Love!

Ungardening

I have no idea where cats get their naughty streak from but it can be down right frustrating and hilarious at he same time. Ginger decided that he would "help" with the gardening. Not by burying stuff but by scratching out the potting soil I've worked so hard to fill the pots with.

How often does that happen in life? We work hard to achieve something and someone else comes and undoes everything we've done.

Jesus warns us against this in the parable of the sewer. The sewer sews the seeds, then the birds come and eat it up. This parable was told to remind us to guard the word of God that was planted in us as Satan is always on the prowl to steal God's word from us.

In your spiritual garden, have you made a plan to ensure that God's word stays planted in you? If not, I suggest you take some time to think it through as all gardening takes a bit of work.

First rains

The first rains of spring bring with them welcome relief from dust and dryness. Sadly though a sudden rush of water on hardened soil also brings with it flooding. Even soil needs gentle soaking rain to soften it in order to receive heavier rains thereafter.

Our heart and spirit likewise need the gentle soaking of smaller quantities of the word and spirit first before we can receive the word and revelation of God in full measure. We often feel guilty when we've been away from the word and then try to delve in with gusto, only to find that a few days into it we just can't go on.

If you've been away from the word for a while, take care to start reading in smaller measure first before you dig into the word in greater detail. Like soil, you'll find that as you ease into it your hunger for more will grow and grow.

That pesky little bird

There is a tiny little bird, smaller than my fist who has decided to make the tree outside my window it's morning calling post. Before 6am he's out there calling on his female companion, and of course once she arrives they really do strike up a chorus.

On work days it's not so bad as he starts round about the time I need to wake up and get ready for work but on weekends it can be quite annoying. He doesn't seem to have a care in the world while he gets his day started with much high pitched chirping as he can manage.

My efforts to “shhhoe” him away from my window have been fruitless. He stands his ground and just carries on chirping. Maybe that should be lesson to us in life? No matter how much the devil tries to silence our voice, we need to stand our ground and just keep praising!!!!

Why thorns?

One thing I really want to ask God one day when I get to heaven, is "God why did you give Roses thorns?" With such a beautiful flower it is only natural to want to reach out and touch it, yet loose focus and ouch but those thorns are going to get you.

Maybe God was trying to show us that despite the Rose's beauty and charm it is still strong enough to fend for itself. Jesus is our Rose of Sharon and it took great strength to go to the cross.

Sharon is an area in North Palestine and with it's valleys referring to lowliness, beauty and delicacy. Indeed the bible tells us that Jesus humbled himself to death on the cross.

We need to learn that God desires that we learn that strength needs to be balanced with humilty and beauty or grace with lowliness.

Smelling my roses

All the gardening hype really got to me. The other day I was in Pick n Pay and saw the most beautiful Cerise pink potted Rose. It was so beautiful I just could not resist buying it.

This weekend for the first time I got wiff of this beautiful flowers scent. Rose blossoms soften the air like fabric softener does to clothes.

Our presence in company should be like the scent of a rose blossom. The gentleness and kindness of Christ should emminate through us and bless those around us.

Will you be the fragrance of Christ to people?

Sapphire blue

September's birthstone, the Sapphire is reminiscent of a cloudless night sky. Legend has it that the ten commandments were inscribed upon tablets made of sapphire. Named after the Greek word "sapphirus", meaning blue, Sapphires have long been a favourite among priests and kings, who considered them symbolic of wisdom and purity. These gemstones are prominent among the British Crown Jewels, and Prince Charles chose this as the engagement stone for his fiance, Princess Diana.

The most prized colour of Sapphire is a rich, deep blue. The Sapphire is second only to the Diamond in hardness, making it a durable gemstone for setting into jewellery. A gift of Sapphire represents sincerity and faithfulness.
 
The faithfulness of our King Jesus can be seen in his willingness to sacrifice all for us. When we allow him to take pre-imminence in our lives his laws become inscribed on our hearts. When the do we grow in wisdom.

Gardening duty

So we had a Spring day gardening event at the complex and guess who showed up? Myself, two other trustees and the garden service staff. I wasn't expecting a huge turn out but one two other people helping would have been nice.

The thought did cross my mind though, how much more could we have achieved if 65 other people with good attitudes had shown up? Looking at what we did achieve in one short day, I realize quite a lot actually.

Sadly in the church things are no different. Worldwide it is only a small number of people who stick their hand up and say, “I'm in, you can count on me.” Imagine what the church of God could achieve if more people stepped up? Imagine the impact?

God is looking for those who are willing and available. You don't have to be a miracle worker, just a willing heart will do. Will you answer the call?