Mr Delivery

Although I know my grief will go through many phases I can rejoice in one good thing, I can truly tell that my Gran is ecstatically happy to be in heaven with her Tommy.  Part of this whole process is remembering all the wonderful stories that people tell. 

One of my Gran's favourite stories of my dad was about the times that he would go to Durban on business trips.  Whenever possible he loved to surprise Gran with a take away meal and would always ring the doorbell and say "Hello, Mr Delivery!" 

Well I can only imagine the party that broke out in heaven when Baby Smith crossed heaven's threshold.  I know there would have been mad kisses between her and Tom and I can almost imagine Tom saying, "See I told you it won't be long."  Thereafter when seeing my dad, I'm almost certain he would have been greeted with, "Ding dong, Mr Delivery!"

It is the small moments and surprises in life that make life memorable, so remember to grab every opportunity to give love and surprises to your family and loved ones.  

House and home

On Saturday I had the maintenance guys come to do the final repairs after the last bout of water damage and in order for them to paint the downstairs bathroom ceiling I had to empty it of all loose items. Seeing the raw shell of the bathroom reminded me immediately of the time my friends and I came to the house to clean it before I moved in.  A house is not a home until we fill it with things that are personal to us.

In the same way our physical bodies and earth are only our temporary building, they are here to allow us to live out God's plan for us while on earth, but heaven is our permanent home.  Today my beloved Gran Baby Smith went home to be with the Lord and her wonderful husband.  Though I am sad and devastated, I know she is rejoicing to be reunited with her beloved Tom. 

Earth is our house but heaven is our home and we can all look forward to a wonderful time of being reunited with those we have loved and miss so dearly.  For those of us left behind the journey of grief is difficult but the Holy Spirit is there to comfort us in our time of loss!

Straight talk

Today on the way home it was time for some straight talk with God. There were some things I just needed to get off my chest and tell him how I feel.  There are some things about my life that just do not make sense and it is very frustrating. 

Now I wish it had happened but there was no voice from heaven or a golden white light from above but I know God heard me and at some moment when I least expect it I'll get my answer.  That is what faith is all about, it's about believing that God hears our prayers and then having the patience to get the answer. 

So if you're feeling like your prayers are hitting a brick wall, you're not alone.  Take heart, God truly desires to meet our deepest needs and He will answer when the time is right. 

Hair hair

So the story goes that young baby Ronwyn was once removed from church for causing a disturbance.  Ja I know, hard to believe, right?  Wink wink...giggle!  Well the trouble all began when a lady with really long hair sat in the pew in front of us.  Little one, got all excited and shouted out loud in afrikaans, "Hair hair" and then proceeded to rub her little face in the ladies hair.  My poor mom didn't know where to hide. 

You see for some unknown reason I just love the feel of hair on my face, hence the reason I have locks now.  If you catch me in traffic you'll often see me rubbing my hair against my cheeks.....sorry I know it sounds funny, but I just love it!  It is soft, tickles in a nice way and is very soothing. 

The Holy Spirit is a truly powerful person  and His touch upon our lives can at times be very over powering, but more often than not, He is just gentle, soft and comforting.  He helps us to find peace and sanity at times when life is crazy busy and brings our soul to rest. 

So if you've been stressed out lately, how about asking the Holy Spirit to bring your soul some soothing peace and rest. 

From scratch

Well we still haven't had much rain, although a bit has come so more prayer about that is certainly necessary.  The temperatures did however cool enough for me to feel safe to do some gardening again.  This time I managed to pull out the lavender's and tried again to clear out the unwanted mint.  With this done I now have a blank canvas on which to restart my front garden.  The aim this time is to go for fewer but larger plants. 

The only part of this process I am not looking forward to is all the digging.  I need to reshape the garden beds and then I can start planting.  I'm still in split minds about some of the plants but I suppose I need to go with my gut feel and work from there.  Gardening has been a trial and error journey for me but one that I thoroughly enjoy.  The best part right now is being able to start using my herbs again. 

The big thing of it is that I have had to push myself with it.  I knew absolutely nothing about gardening when I started and have learned along the way.  I have worked hard to study my plants and find out what works for me.  At times it has really taken back breaking work with lots of sweat....Lol! but I have loved every second of it. 

The things in life that's the important to remember that we may have many false starts before we get to where we want to go to.  The trick is to keep at it and while you are doing so, trust God, rely on His leading and do the best you can do. 

Seeing in colour

I've always been the type to stop and pay attention to the rays of light as they pour through the clouds or the colours of the sunset on a slightly cloudy day, but since I've been painting all of a sudden I see the colours in more vivid clarity.  When you look closely you can see the the depth and light of the colours and often how many shades of orange are present in a sunset. 

We may often think of that our lives are a bit dull or dreary but that is most certainly not the case.  When we look at our lives through God's eyes we see the multiple shades of grace, mercy, forgiveness and courage that God has so majestically painted into our canvas. 

It is only when we accept the beauty of God's love present in our own lives that we can start to see the love of God for others.  When we do we will be more willing to show them grace, knowing how much grace and love God has poured out on us. 

Anything that moves

I was making coffee in our break area the other day when I spotted a fighter jet on the TV that I just couldn't take my eyes off.  The thing was a piece of beauty and looked like a cross between a Mig and Stealth fighter and was truly spectacular.  One of my male colleagues was trying talk to me but I was pretty much ignoring him while I drooled.  He was surprised at my interest and asked if I liked planes, to which I responded that I liked anything that moved.  Planes, trains, automobiles, boats, you name it, if it moves I like it! 

It was his next question that amused me most....what car do you drive?  Lol!  Response, Hyundai Atos.  Now I had some explaining to do..... I noted that my decision to buy a car with a smaller engine was precisely a result of having a slightly heavy foot...teehee!  Well you know what the bible says, if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.   But that's not what interests me most.

First boats: Since prehistoric times
First train - primitive moving machine 600BC but first locomotive: +- 1550
First automobile: 1885

First plane: 1903

Mankind was made to move yet look how far apart these discoveries and developments in human mechanical movement have taken place.  How impatient don't we become in life when we expect change and development to come at a moments notice.  God progresses things in our lives at His pace and at His will not ours and that is very hard to accept.  I know I become easily frustrated but that is why I write to remind myself that God is in no hurry. 

We're having a heat wave....of note!

Yoh yoh yoh! But it is HOT!  And with this kind of dry unrelenting heat I wasn't up for much gardening, so I took to just splitting some Clivia's.  The saddest thing for me though is knowing that there are farmers out there that are in dire, dire straights.  So tonight is a call to prayer, we need to pray for rain and it needs to come quickly. 

Being parched, dry and burnt out happens in our spiritual lives just as much as it happens on our planet.  We get to a point of being so stressed out that we simply cannot function.  There are two things needed at times like these.  The first is food for the soul, so that is why I took Friday leave to spend the day with my good friend Bridget to do some painting and the creative time did me the world of good!

Second and most importantly we need the refreshing rain of the Holy Spirit to pour over us and bring refreshing and strength to our spirit.  Nothing could be more important at a time like this.  So I'd like to encourage you to find any way you can to spend time in the presence of God and allow Him to soak you in His love and kindness and bring healing and restoration from within! 

Crazy questions

If you read last nights blog you may be wondering to yourself why I said that I was throwing out theology for the sake of my imagination.  Well that's an interesting question because though much of the theology we know today has been tested through history there are still many aspects of knowing God and the truth of His word that truly still fall within the field of theory.  You may not agree with me on that and you're entitled to your opinion just as I am.  I do believe that books like Daniel and Revelation hold secrets and mysteries that will only be revealed to us in heaven. 

So what is the main theory as to why there are no humans or like species on other planets?  Mostly this centres around the issue that scripture tells us that God sent his only begotten Son to our planet to die for our sins.  Well the question I'd like to ask is, are there other planets that God sent Lucifer and his demons to posses?  What if the answer to that question is no?  What if on other planets the human like species have never encountered evil and have no need of salvation in the same way we do? 

Okay I know some people will say I am treading on thin ice, but maybe inside I'm just not willing to be limited to what other people believe about God and our universe.  We do know that our God is infinitely greater, stronger and more powerful than we could ever imagine so I'm just not willing to put what we know about God in a box that suites my limited understanding of Him. 

I don't know about you but I do look forward to the day when I can ask God all these crazy questions face to face. 

To distant galaxy's and beyond.....

So for once and just for fun I'm going to throw true theology out the window and engage in some Christian Science fiction if you will...... Here's to my wild imagination and the things I dream of.

As a young women I had the privilege of attending Rhema Bible school and in those early years I was exposed the truth that God created mankind to be mortal, yet immortal...  Since then though I have asked myself this question many times...  

If God created us to live forever and never physically die, then where did he plan to put us all?  Surely this planet can only sustain just so many human beings.....???

Well, my theory on this is that God does in fact want us to gain the technological ability to engage in true space travel.  I believe that it is very possible that there could well be other habitable planets in other areas of ours or many other galaxy's.   I think it is very possible that the reason our minds can even imagine space travel and create movies like Star Wars and Startrek is simply because it is doable.  There are so many technologies in existance today that many would have said would never materialize, but here they are.

So in my dreams I see a day when when achieving warp drive will be a reality and traveling the vast expanses of our universe will be the norm.  I truly do wonder what other planets in this universe look like and what other life forms are possible.....???

So tonight when I dream I'll be dreaming about going to distant galaxy's and beyond.......!

Overwhelmed

I have had the privilege in life of being on the receiving end of other people's generosity and kindness many times.  I'll be honest, I often feel totally overwhelmed by this because it has come in times of tragedy and sadness, times of pure stupidity on my part and often for no reason at all.  I have felt unworthy of the the help, the gifts and the blessings. 

Well isn't that the way we often feel about God's love?  He showers us with goodness and kindness but above all He gave us His only Son and made Him die for our sins.  The gift of His life, the gift of His love and His sacrifice are more overwhelming than any of us can truly describe. 

Yet in God's eyes this gift was fully justified, for if He had not given us the right to choose and freedom of will, Adam never would have eaten of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.  If God had made us like animals that operate from instinct only and are created to preserve the circle of life we would not have been exposed to Satan's treachery. 

God had to make it right, He had to redeem us, he had to restore us to relationship with Himself at any cost.....and He did, He truly did!!!