Talking about birdies

Well it might be the next generation but the little birdie that likes to chirp outside my window from 4am is back........argh! Nobody gets to sleep peacefully any more! Just like birdies can disturb our sleep, there are people in life who will do everything to 'chirp' you out of your dream.

Develop a passion for anything and these little birdies will be chirping into your ear as to why it just won't work. The Christian world is no different. Throughout history there have been persecutors of the vision and mission of the church.

Paul was one such persecutor. He did everything he could to destroy the Church until that one day when he came face to face with the risen Christ! When Paul was confronted with the truth he had no option but to submit to the will of God and commit his life to the service of our risen Lord!

Hold fast to your truth! Hold fast to faith! Hold fast to your dreams, in God they will be fulfilled!

When song birds don't sing

Being from Welsh decent there has always been a musical thread in our family. For all of my childhood and growing years I had one thing that I knew separated me from my peers in a good way, that was a good singing voice. I was always a Soprano and must admit I got a kick out of being able to hit those high notes. I had a dream of becoming a great singer, but over the years I remember clearly a set of events, not all tied together but separate events that silenced my voice.

Suppressed opportunities, dis-empowerment by a leader, the stress and commitment of my studies but most painfully the suicide of a close friend. The song bird in me no longer had strength to sing and I let go of my dream.

For years now I have felt robbed of a dream but through writing my voice has found a new way to echo. It is no longer the sound of my voice but the heart in my words that brings music alive in me today. While my voice may never be what it once was I know I can reach many through words spoken in love.

Have you been through experiences that have stolen your dreams? If so, turn back quickly and fight for those dreams once more, for our muscle memory that enables us to reaching for a dream is strong and will sustain you once again. Never give up on your dreams, reach out and grab them and hold on to them tight and don't ever let go! God will be your source and your strength!

Looking for buds

I found myself peering very closely at my plants today. The air has started to warm, some Lilly's are beginning to blossom and I'm beginning to wonder if Spring is near. That being said, I think we would do well to remember a lesson from last year. The winter had not been particularly cold until the beginning of August.

It was a tad uncomfortable but a beautiful birthday surprise to get snow on my birthday on August 7^th. I'm not sure, but I think it might happen again, which would actually bring great cause for concern. Our climate seems to be changing a little faster all the time and I have to wonder if we will ever be able to do anything about it.

Back to my point though, right now I don't think it will be a good idea to move any plants or plant fresh seeds, but I do think it will be a very good time to start preparing the soil. In our spiritual life too the same is often true. We may sense changes lying ahead and we would do well to start preparing our hearts for the changes that lie ahead.

This may require digging up weeds and turning the soil and maybe even laying a fresh layer of compost or adding extra top soil. The good news is that the earlier we start to prepare for the changes that lie ahead, the earlier we can get a result.

Let's look forward to the changes that lie ahead and prepare our hearts for a spiritual awakening, I'm sure, is near.

Spots and specks

While browsing through social media last night I came across a link to newly published photo's from NASA obtained from a satellite just outside Saturn's rings as it had turned to photograph our amazing planet Earth and our moon.

This was a rare moment because for the most part our planet is usually lined up in a way that the our Sun blocks such an image with extreme glare. Seeing Earth and our moon as a mere dot and speck against the backdrop of space is such a mind blowing image.

We spend our days worrying about the way the world turns and our role in it, all the while loosing perspective on the bigger picture. This magnificent Universe we live in of which we have so little knowledge and understanding is the awesome creation of a powerful God.

Sure, we all have days when it feels like the weight of the world is on our shoulders but we should take heart in knowing that our omnipresent God is in control of this Universe. He holds the whole world in His hands and He has you and me tucked safely under His wing.

Not in the mood for ambling

I must admit I just don't get it. I'm just not one of those people that can go through life ambling along. There has to be something that drives my passion and if there isn't I'm just not happy. Life right now is all about the big push! There are so many goals to aim for and it really makes life fun!

Every moment of every day that Jesus lived on earth but especially His ministry years were filled with purpose and He knew the exact path that He needed to take to arrive at His most glorious destination.....the Cross!

What was Jesus passion all about? People. People were the focus of Jesus life. He sacrificed everything for the cause of reuniting us in relationship with our heavenly Father.

Have you found your passion? Do you know what drives you? If you haven't, maybe it is time to take some time out of your normal routine to spend some time alone in the presence of the Holy Spirit and ask Him to guide your thoughts. Make a list of the things in life you are passionate about and give it everything you've got. True passion will drive the momentum in your life but remember one thing, if the Saviour of the Universe could give His life for others, then we should consider helping others to be our passion too.

Team dynamics

Time and again in life we will be confronted with challenges that put our team work to the test. In 99% of cases it is a mindset among members of the team that creates the tension and drives the rift. My mind always goes back to the many youth camps I attended, with countless games teaching us the value of working as a cohesive unit.

Game after game taught us to see that when working together in unity, even a physically challenged team could achieve victory. Ironically this was even proven with our “down time” activities, like dare I mention it.....the shaving cream fights.

I'm sure I've told the story before but in one instance it took only a hand full of girls that I managed to rustle together as my possie, for us to raid the boys bungalow and disarm them completely leaving them with only rage as their weapon.

I definitely did not go home smelling like roses after that youth camp :-)

What team challenge are you facing right now? Do you have the courage to dare to challenge the thinking in your team to break free from conflict and see your team changed?

Dead Sea Discovery

Last week while meditating on the origin and strength of the integrity of our scriptures, my thoughts wondered to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and how significant they have been in confirming our knowledge today that the scriptures we read today are in fact copied with great accuracy.

Can you imagine back to a the time the young boy goat herd discovered the scrolls in the late 1940's? It is said that he was unruffled by the discovery. Having been a Christian myself it is hard to understand other people's hesitancy when coming into a relationship with God for the first time to believe in scripture but having read this story it makes a little more sense.

I suppose discovering a relationship with God is a strange experience and as it is unknown there might be a reluctance to take scripture seriously. Luckily though someone did take the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls seriously and they have confirmed the accuracy of our scriptures today in many ways.

If you are new to a relationship with God open your heart to the truth of God's word. The faith that we follow today is testified to in scriptures that date back thousands of years and our origins in God are ancient. We can confidently rely on the scriptures we read today as truth and as such we should take heed to consider them and their content seriously.

Passing it on

If all goes well in the next three months I will be moving from my current role at work in the finance team over to procurement, which is a little more in line with my field of experience. What's important right now though is that I pass on the knowledge I've gained thus far to the colleagues who will be stepping into my role.

The biggest problem with this task is my interpretation of what it is that I think I know. Knowledge somehow tends to be diluted as it is passed on from one person to the next. Amazingly throughout the millennia that the bible has been recorded there has been great integrity in which the written word of God has been passed on from one generation to the next, something that as Christians we can be truly proud of.

We can take courage today that the bible has been the most accurately copied work of all time and to date is still the biggest seller of books worldwide. Knowing this should give us faith and strength to know that the word of God can be trusted.

Neptune's moons

Would you believe it but an astronomer has just found a 14^th moon orbiting Neptune. Fascinating! In our own solar back yard new discoveries are still being made. The newly found moon is believed to be approximately 20 km in diameter and the discovery was made while analyzing images from Hubble.

At times it can feel strange that our knowledge of God is somehow wrapped up in a comparatively speaking small book called the bible and there are times when it may feel that there is nothing left to discover. That however could not be further from the truth.

The same way an astronomer could find something new in existing images so too we can find new and exciting things hidden in the word of God. What we need to do is the same thing the astronomer did, look at the word from a new perspective.

If reading your bible has become a bit same old same old, maybe its time to shake things up a bit and do something different. While doing so, ask the Holy Spirit to come along side you and guide you on your new voyage of discovery.

Blue Monday

Today was one of those days when nothing wanted to work out right. Stress came from all angles and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't pull things in the right direction. As my goal for blogging has been to try and find the positive in each day, I have sat for over an hour trying to find that one little shred of goodness in the day.

In truth it sometimes just doesn't happen. There were no catastrophic events but the whole day just felt off balance and sometimes there is just nothing you can do about it other than to accept the day for what it was, say good night to the world and believe in faith that tomorrow will be a better day.

We have this promise: The mercies of God are new every morning! This is a lesson I've learnt time and time again, through failures and defeat, through heart ache and despair, that God is always present and always there and He will always be our strength.

So I commit my soul to rest and will slumber in the faith that tomorrow the sun will rise and I will breath the love, grace and mercy of God once more in that new day!

True beauty

This weekends pamper party was small but fun. The use of cosmetics can be traced back thousands of years to the Egyptian kingdom. Spending time with ladies, helping their skin to glow and bring out their inner radiance is a wonderful experience.

What can possibly be more special than seeing wonderful ladies come out of their shell than a pamper day? The only thing I can think of is a truly beautiful spirit and that was present in abundance.

True beauty comes from knowing who you are as a person and living to your full potential and blessing the body of Christ with your unique gift. Cosmetics should not mask who we are but rather enhance our own unique features, so too in the body of Christ. We should not hide behind a title or a lack of a title but embrace all that we are in Christ and reveal His glory in us.

The set up

I'm going to be hosting a ladies pamper party on Saturday morning and I decided to put a bit of effort into it. With my apartment being on the small side it means I have to find creative ways to set things up. I find the preparation for an event like this is such great fun.

That does make me wonder what Jesus is up too in heaven right now. He told His disciples that He was returning home to heaven to prepare a place for us. I wonder what my heavenly home is going to look like one day?

The one thing I know for sure is that I have a home to go to when my time on this earth has passed. I have to wonder about the many souls out there who have not yet had the joy of knowing Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

As Christians we have a responsibility to bring a message of God's love to those who are dying and lost and give them hope for a future. If you know someone who is hurting, reach out to them. They need the love of God more than you can imagine and you could be their lifeline.

Do you want my business?

It never ceases to amaze me how some business managers just don't get the fact that in order to secure your business they do need to deliver service. When you try to get them to accommodate you with a special request it is just too much work for them. Unfortunately for people like that, they just won't get my business.

That begs the question, is the Church a service organization? I absolutely believe we are. We need to serve people that are hurt and broken in order to lead them to a place where they can accept Christ as Saviour.

Jesus demonstrated this principle and taught us that in order to be a leader we must be willing to serve the people we wish to lead. He washed His disciples feet and ministered to them time and time again.

Above all else, Christ demonstrated service to the body of Christ when He gave up His life as a sacrifice for our sin. From this example we need to learn that in order to grow in our leadership skills we need to first serve the body of Christ and minister to those whom God places in our path.

Wrong side of the mountain

I remember my mom telling me about her Mount Kilimanjaro adventure. The bulk of the time of the journey is spent climbing to different levels and acclimatizing to the altitude. The final ascent and decent are done in one long, exhausting day.

Have you found yourself on what seems to feel like the wrong side of the mountain? I know I'm feeling that right now. The challenge that lies ahead of me feels totally insurmountable. What I do know for sure though is that I have to keep on going just one step at a time.

It is during these phases of life that we feel as though we actually must be doing something wrong, perhaps even going in the wrong direction. The climb is slow and hard and all the while the air seems thinner and thinner making it hard to breath.

What an experienced climber knows though is that a slow ascent is necessary for survival. Go up too fast and you are likely to die from altitude sickness. So too in life the Holy Spirit is our experienced guide and he leads us up those challenging mountains of life slowly. Then when we are ready, we can make the big push to not only reach the summit and experience the glory of victory but to also descend back to safety.

I know it is hard, but trust your guide, He knows what He is doing.

Not according to plan

There are times in life when it seems that things are just not going according to plan. For someone who likes following a schedule that can be a challenge. Being gracious when you feel let down is difficult but in truth it is the only response that is valid.

Understanding that other people face the same challenges as you do will go a long way to finding the strength you need to be able to take a deep breath and take things in your stride. Grace is always rewarded one way or another and chuck in a little patience and you will soon see the fruit of your efforts.

Paul faced many imprisonments and there were many times during these seasons that he did not receive any support from the church, yet despite this he learned to show grace to others and not get offended at their lack of support when it was difficult for them to assist him.

Learning to show grace is an important part of our spiritual growth so if you are feeling stretched in this area right now, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and to give you wisdom to know how best to respond to a given situation.

700

As another mile stone has arrived with today's blog being my 700^th blog written, I want to take a moment once again to stop and give thanks. Firstly doing so through remembrance. I remember an evening some time in my first year of living in Jo'burg where I was attending a youth cell group. We had a guest speaker who had a prophetic gift. I will never forget my dismay when she said that one day I would write books. This came as a shock to me then as writing a book was the furthest thing from my mind as my desire at that time was to be a singer. It seems she was right though.

For this prophetic message I give thanks to God today. To God for your grace which has carried me so many times when I have been tired and weary, Thank You!

To all the friends and family who have encouraged me to keep on writing. Thank You!

To all my readers across the various platforms across which these messages are carried, thank you for your continued support!

To God only be the glory and honour! Amen!

Happy Independence Day

I'm always drawn to those little facts of History that you just don't learn by a quick glance. The reason for this is that they bring alive to me, what I believe to be God's infallible timing.

July 4^th 1776 is remembered as the day that the United States adopted the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. It is however what happened 50 years later that got my attention.

In a remarkable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration.

50 is a number representing salvation and deliverance. Could it be that God stamped His approval of America's independence through this coincidence.

God's desire is for all nations to live in freedom from oppression and peace. As America celebrates its independence day tomorrow on the 4^th of July, let us South African's celebrate with them for God has taught us the significance of independence in our own special day on the 10^th of May, 1994.

What's the limit?

There is one thing my sister and I could both not resist, a bottle of pickled onions. Without fail, every time a new bottle got opened it would be met with the question, “what's the limit?” I recall two being the standard response. Lol!

There are many things in life which we wish had no limits. Weekends, parties, family time, fun and entertainment. Sadly these things too have limits placed on them.

There is one thing that I know for sure there is no limit on and which we are free to indulge in as much as possible and that is worship. We may think of worship only taking place in church with music and choral singing, but that is definitely not the limit of where worship can be enjoyed.

Worship is something we can always carry in our heart. We can sing in the shower, rejoice in the car and even whisper sweet nothings to God any time of the day, all of which are worship. Don't let a time and place limit your experience of the presence of God. Lift your heart to God and worship Him.

Donkey talk

Nothing can frustrate a person more than dealing with people who are just too plain stubborn to change. For some reason they have put their blinkers on and cannot see past what might be a temporary inconvenience to reach lasting success.

The problem with that mentality is that it can lead to the collapse of a department or company and sometimes only an aggressive turn around strategy will solve the problem. The problem with that approach is that it leads to casualties of one kind or another which is highly undesirable.

The question is, are there alternatives? I suppose that is where skilled negotiators come into the picture. They step into the picture, calm any tensions and work until a win-win situation is found.

Jesus was our negotiator. He stood before the Father and pleaded our case with His blood in hand. The result? We now have full access to the throne room of God, allowing us to enter His presence in worship and best of all, our salvation is guaranteed for eternity.