This place smells woof!

I don't blame our company, their intentions were good. They wanted to provide their staff with a good family day outing. I do however blame the venue designers. Common guys who on earth creates a function site less than 10 meters away from a cattle Kraal? We had been there the year before so I tried not to arrive too early but it still didn't help. I retreated behind a garden patch for a while which provided some relief, but had to emerge eventually and be a bit 'social'. Needless to say I didn't stay once lunch was done.

The fact of life is that we choose where we make our habitation. When we choose to dwell under the shadow of the almighty God we will carry His love and His fragrance wherever we go. If we choose to dwell where the devil dwells we will carry the fragrance of death and produce nothing but lies and deceit.

Let us choose today to dwell and stay in God's presence and to allow our lives to emanate the fragrances of love, peace, grace, beauty and thanksgiving.

Getting rid of the knots

I absolutely love and live for my monthly massages and they really are a big help! Getting the knots in my back and shoulders removed is a big relief. A months worth of stress and tension just melts away and it feels amazing.

In our spiritual lives do we get knots as well? I think we can, issues in our relationship with God that are just difficult to understand and as a result we can have spiritual stress about them. Paul spoke about a thorn in the side, but God never removed that thorn, He simply gave Paul to grace and strength to endure.

When we battle with issues of persistent health problems, difficult work circumstances, trouble in our relationships and even financial stress, these all put stress on our relationship with God because we wonder how a loving God could allow these things.

The work of the Holy Spirit is to comfort us and to relieve our stress by reminding us that we are not alone. Firstly we are not alone in our human experiences and secondly we are not alone because God is walking our path with us. When we receive that type of comfort it helps us to deal with our daily spiritual stresses and relieves our burdens.

I just should have done it

Last night I prepared my grocery shopping list, but by the time I had done it, I had run out of data on my cell phone and today being pay day, I had to wait till morning to buy the data. I had sent the mail from my junk mail box to my regular mail account and I told myself to cc my office address and just did not do it. Unfortunately the mail timed out and never made it to my phone.

I figured it wasn't really a problem because tonight I was supposed to get my monthly massage and tomorrow (Thursday) would be shopping day. NOT. I got a call from the salon to move the massage to tomorrow and thus I had to get shopping done tonight, the weekend I have other plans. Well there I sat trying to get access to my junk mail box at the office and nothing I tried worked. If I had emailed it to the office, it would have been a simple forward exercise.

So what did that all cost me, stress and a rushed 20 minutes at home trying to get it all sorted out before I could head to the shop. Luckily grace intervened and the shop was going to be open later so I ended up being able to take my time as planned.

It was just a simple lesson to me again of listening to my own inner voice and then disobeying it and paying the price. Recent events in my life have made that so clear and yet I still didn't listen. Sure it was a small consequence now, but in other situations it could have been a disaster.

God has given us the inner witness as one of the ways that he speaks to us. It is our conscience at work that helps us determine right from wrong and danger from safety. It is so important for us to learn to listen to that voice because in any given situation it really could save our lives.

Please don't make the same mistake I did, listen to yourself!

Doing the laps

I tootled off to the gym this evening hoping to do a splash of aqua aerobics. Upon arrival however the aqua pool was closed and only the main swimming pool was open. I grudgingly fetched my goggles and climbed into the cool water. What I had forgotten however is how much I really love doing laps. I'm not a fast swimmer by any means but I do have stamina to do long distance.

A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to do the Midmar dam swim, I trained the distance but never did the race, chickened out, tee hee! At that point though I was swimming anywhere between 100 – 150 laps. The secret to doing long distance swimming, so I'm told, is not too hold your breath as long as you would if you were doing a dash, but rather to breath frequently.

In life we often focus on the short goals, the next 100 meters and we try to dash it through with little breath. We get to the end of the 100 meters and have no strength left for the rest of the race. I want to encourage you to rather start focusing on the longer distance and take your breaths when you need to, i.e. do a short 1 day get away or go somewhere new or do something creative, just to allow you to get your energy back.

Well tonight I only managed 20 laps and was totally breathless afterwards, but man do I feel alive! The bug has bitten and I know I'll be back there again soon. What are you going to do with your life today to bring back that rush of energy you need?

The trouble with load shedding

Being a seasoned Gautenger by now, I have learned to live with the power disruptions. I'm well stocked with candles and a gas stove and luckily the geyser stays hot for quite a while. The big issue is all the other house chores that need to be rescheduled.

This evening it has been 'make hay while the sun shines' as we were off most of yesterday, so I guess tonight was our night off, but just in case, my laptop is fully charged.

How often in life do we not put things off though? We decide that tomorrow's another day and because of that we put things off that should really be done now. Right now I'm choosing not too, I'm living each day to the full, feeling everything that I need to and enjoying the good and learning from the bad.

There are definitely things that we should never put off:

Never put off saying I love you

Never put off showing kindness and grace

Never put off giving love and support to friends and family

Never put off the desire to know God

Never put off fellowshiping with God with every possibility

Never put off talking to God

That's my list for now, what's yours?

Hope's engine

I was reminded this evening by our pastor that hope is an active force.  It is something that we often don't use enough in our lives to create the forward momentum we need to drive our lives in the right direction.  

There are times in life when we are battered by life's storms and maybe as a result of that we end up with a damaged boat and the boat starts floating adrift.  I have often spoken of hope as an anchor but after tonight I think I might have misrepresented that.  It is the peace of God that guards our minds and brings calm to the troubled waters. 

I'm beginning to see hope a bit more like a tug boat.  Tug boats are strong and have an extreme power to tonnage ratio and they are small and maneuverable.  When a ship cannot steer or gain momentum then tug boats are used to move the ship along.  Some are strong enough to plough their way through icebergs. 

When we have stalled it is hope's force and momentum that pull us forward to getting our lives back on the track that they need to be.  Hope is powerful and strong and can break barriers in our life that no other force can break. 

As we face a new week, let hope drive your life forward in the direction that God has intended it to take.

Some crutches for perspective

Well Jo'burg rose to the occasion once again! I needed to be at the office early for a CEO meeting so I made the effort to get my behind out the bed early and off I went. Well, 1 hour later I had hardly landed on the highway and I could see this wasn't going to get any better. I then made the treacherous mistake of thinking Witkoppen might be better and I paid dearly. 3 hours later I rolled into the office and just caught the tail end of the meeting.

While driving though and counting my woes, I drove past a man, hobbling along on crutches. He was obviously paralysed and could not use his legs properly yet he was moving himself along one bit at a time. The sight broke my heart and all I wanted to do was to help, but I had nothing to give. I wish I could have been his angel and provided him with everything he needed. Now all I can do is pray that God will help him.

This put my 3 hour drive into different perspective. I had a car and I have legs that can carry me when they need to, so why was I complaining? It definitely helped me keep my attitude in check for the day.

We used to sing an old song, “when upon life's billow's you are tempest tost, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings name them one by one, and you'll be surprised at what the Lord has done!”

Let's remember to count our blessings today!

Crazy weather

My goodness, how is this weather we are experiencing. Needing winter blankets in summer and two pairs of shoes because I don't know whether I'm going to be hot or cold during the day is just frustrating. Don't tell me that global warming hasn't messed up our climate....who know's whats next?

If the weather can leave us feeling that we need to be prepared for anything, what do we need to do in our spiritual lives to be prepared for all situations? Develop a close relationship with God through prayer and worship. You will be amazed at how much strength and direction you can gain from just a few moments with God each day!

In recent weeks I have realised that I had not put communication with God first and as a result I did not have the wisdom I needed in certain situations. I'm certainly not going to make that mistake again. Spending time with God each day has given me the compassion, strength and wisdom to deal with what I am facing right now and I am so grateful to God for His gentle guidance.

Increasing the weights – uping the anti

I was surprised to see how quickly my body got used to the new work outs and settled back to normal with no pain. The problem with that is that if you are just maintaining weight then keeping the pace the same is fine, but if you want to continue to burn fat then you are going to have to push the pace harder and make your body work more.

That being decided I gave it a hard knock tonight and from the way I'm feeling now it is going to be soooooore tomorrow! Tee hee, serves me right. The amazing thing is that while training tonight I got a glimpse again of my younger self and boy do I want that chickie back in my life. Its small wonder I was a skinny weed, I used to walk almost every afternoon from home, to my mom's office and then to the gym and still train. Lol!

The thing is if you really want something you are going to have to work at it and that is where good Godly ethics come in, you know, “do everything as unto the Lord!” That does mean everything, work, home, relationships, the works, everything.

Loaded

What a loaded scripture and at that, not even the full verse. James 1:21 “.......and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your soul.” I could probably do a full 45 minute sermon, just on that bit, but I'll stick to the cliff notes.

To receive with meekness tells us that our attitude to receiving the word of God into our lives needs to be with an attitude of humility, taking into consideration the power of the word of God. The implanted word reminds us that in order for God's word to have an effect on our lives it needs to be rooted in us, that means, fully entrenched in everything we know and do. In order for us to have the word implanted in us takes effort, it means learning scripture, what it means and what effect it can have on us.

Most of us think that the saving of our souls refers to our spiritual salvation, but it is not that. The saving of our souls means the reformation process that our soul goes through as we become more like Jesus, this is called our sanctification. Saving our soul takes on another angle though, when God's word works in us it can literally save us from aspects in our lives are destructive, like greed envy and lust.

This entire process is never ending. I'd like to encourage you today to allow God's word to become deeply rooted in you so that you can experience the life saving power of His Word!

A job made easy

I had planned to spend most of the weekend doing gardening, but I woke up with a fright to a thunderstorm and had to rescue the kitties from the rain. That being done, fatigue got the better of me and I decided to retreat back to bed.

By the time I woke up again the sun was out and the garden beckoned. The usually unpleasant task of weeding the side garden had however been made easy due to the heavy rain and the weeds just popped out. I had barely finished that though and another storm rolled in and I had to accept that I was done gardening for the day.

Our hearts are much like garden beds though, when we are spiritually dry and arid then dealing with the difficult heart issues of life can be difficult. However when we are walking close to God and the Holy Spirit has rained on us then getting through those tough times is so much easier.

Are you struggling to overcome difficulties in your life? How about making a point to spend some time in prayer and fellowship with God and opening your heart to the work that he wants to do in you. Know that when you do, God's presence and peace will refresh your soul every time!

Hello Mr Sun

After several days of much needed rain, Mr Sun finally managed to make an appearance again and oh, how pleased we are. I arrived home and was able to take a walk to the herb garden for the first time in days and was greeted by some beautiful ripe blackberries, delightful!

Being able to retreat to the back garden with a cup of coffee is one of my favourite things to do. The site that greeted me, was a little disturbing though. With all the great rain everything grows like wildfire, including the weeds and some of them are almost as big as the clivia's, EISH!

The good, the bad and the ugly all grow under good rain conditions and in life and in spirit the same will be true. Life will present us with trials and out of them will come both positive and negative consequences, it is how we choose to respond to both the good and the bad that determines our level of spiritual and emotional growth.

Hind sight is always clearer than foresight and we must allow time to reflect on the lessons of life so that we can become stronger and wiser through them. I hope you are enjoying the wonderful benefits of spiritual rain in your life today.

Weight resistance training

Recently I've been doing abdominal training but mostly with crunches, stretches and ball work but I wasn't quite getting the results I wanted. This weekend I decided to add back some Ab machines and full body lift resistance training. The result? PAIN!

Now bruised muscles need a day to heal but you cannot stop there. You have to get back to training those muscles as quickly as possible, burning through the pain. That's when you get the best fat burning results, but it is not easy.

In life trials come to us and there is no doubt they cause us pain along the way, but the same is true for our emotions and faith as it is for muscles, you have to get back to working that area again as quickly as possible. The same way training burns away fat, so too trials burn away the rough edges of our character and we are left with an awesome result, a strong and healthy faith.

If you are feeling bruised and in pain, don't stay there. Get back up as quickly as possible and move forward with life and your relationship with God.

Hit pause

There are times in life when interruptions, circumstances or people throw our lives into a tizzy. The interactions and events fly at us so fast we don't really get time to stop and pause and our judgements are clouded and before we know it, we've made a massive mistake.

In music it is the pauses that give the repertoire feeling and depth. In life we need pauses as well, times to allow things to sink in and process what is going on in our lives, time to put things in proper perspective. When we take those pauses, the colours of life are brighter, the songs of the birds bring peace and we are able to find the steady rhythm that we need to gain balance and make the right choices.

Whatever your pause time is, don't let go of it! Hang on to that time and fight to defend its place in your life. It is a vital space for you to connect with God, even if it is just with silence. It is this meditation that will give you the strength to find the right solution to every problem and God will honour you when you do.

It weighs on the heart

Trials are never easy, and trials of the heart are even more burdensome to bare, but God knows everything we think or feel and through every difficulty he will carry us and work in us to prove his goodness and kindness.

The devils evil knows no limits and he will stop at nothing to destroy you and it is at times like these that we may feel fear and grow weary in our relationship with God. The thing is this is when we have the greatest opportunity to prove the power of God that is within us.

Don't let the devil get the better of your thought life. Stand strong in your faith and trust God for wisdom and strength.

A lioness's strength

As women we complain when we don’t have the physical strength to open a glass jar, or we might be able to change the light bulb, if only we could get the cover off.  We may get frustrated when we are unable to pick up or carry a heavy object or when we just can’t get something heavy to move from a spot.  BUT dear ladies there is another kind of strength we do have.

You see the Lion does not say to the Lioness, “You are smaller than me and not quite as strong, so you stay home and I’ll do the hunting.”  No, the Lion knows that it is the Lioness’s speed and agility, her pace and her stamina that make her the perfect huntress for the tribe.  Then there is her ability to communicate with the other lionesses in her tribe and to work together as a team. 

As women of God it is our role in the family to use our strengths to bring about God’s order in the home, to know that we have the strength and stamina to pray for our families until the spiritual and physical battles of life are done.  This is what God honours as our strength and this is the role God desires us to play in the home. 

Women of God, stand strong in your faith in God today and know that God is with you and together as a team you can defeat the power of the enemy.

Know the signs

I have long been a believer that events I call, “signs in the heavelies” are signs that God is about to bring great change in my life. They may not necessarily be in the stars but things like, the sighting of a triple rainbow, a lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse, sighting of a shooting star or comet are all natural events that happen within nature that have been signs to me that change was nigh.

It has happened again this year. I think back to August 5^th, two days before my birthday when our country shook from a tremor, yes it was a sign that God is busy moving my earth and rocking my world for change and I couldn't be happier.

Do you know what signs God uses to get your attention? It may be a rare flower, a feather on the ground or an owl in the tree, but God has unique ways of communicating that change is on the way to each of us. Do you know yours and what to do when they happen?

When a mother prays

Folks you had better believe it. When a mother prays God listens! I have been contemplating a big decision I needed to make in my life and I asked God to give me one last assurance that this was His plan and purpose for my life.

Without asking, tonight that assurance came from my mother and the word was specific and clear with no ambiguity! I couldn't have asked for anything more direct. She had prayed a specific prayer that required a specific answer and it came.

Mother's, God has ordained your place in the family to be the voice of the Holy Spirit to your husband and children. When you submit your heart to His will and listen to Him, he will give you the guidance you need to speak the prophetic word of God into their lives! Please open your heart to hear from Him today.

Change of pace

This weekend the pace of things was a little bit different.  I did not have the usual energy for gardening and there are certain things that just didn’t get done.  I did get lots of sleep though and that was good for me.

In Psalm 23 versus 2 & 3, David talks about rest in a unique way.  He says that the Lord ‘makes’ him lie down in green pastures.  That is interesting and means that there are times when God forces us to take it easy, but why does He do so?  Verse 3 gives us two clear answers.  In order for our souls to be recharged.  And why is that necessary?  So that we can be lead into righteousness. 

I find that so interesting, that it requires a fully restored soul in order for us to be lead to righteousness.  My take on that is this, the reason it requires a rested and restored soul is that it takes effort for us to work out our salvation and this can only be done with a strong soul.  When we allow ourselves to be restored, walking the road necessary to come to right standing with God becomes easier to complete.