Once again had the exciting opportunity to shower and dress for work by candle light, thanks to our wonderful Eskom and once again, wow, I love my little gas heater!!!!! The tiny thing blasts out heat at an incredible rate and I had it on the lowest it could go (and yes I did have the door open for safety).
Even when I moved away from the face of the heater, I could feel how well it was heating the whole room. Now I'm definitely never going to make a gas heater a permanent option, especially for the bedroom but it sure is great to have as a backup.
Jesus likened us to a lamp that lights the whole room but I want to take that one step further. Why not look at ourselves as the loving fire of God that warms a whole community? We live in a world filled with anger, hate, violence and mayhem and so many people are longing for and looking for love.
I want to encourage you to let the fire of your love for God warm those around you and attract people to Christ through His love!
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Back to the Doc
So the flu nabbed me again for the second time this month and I woke up at 3am Monday morning coughing my lungs out. This time round I did not have the strength to face another 10-12 days of fighting the bug on my own so it was off to the Doc and antibiotics were dispensed (which I had managed to duck the first time). It is always hard getting back into routine after an illness but I guess the only way is to plough through it.
I'll admit that it is hard not to get despondent when you are ill but as I sit here I know that my circumstances are mild in comparison to others. My darling gran is in hospital waiting for hip surgery tomorrow and we received news tonight that one of my mom's cousins passed away, so it is a difficult season for us to deal with as a family right now.
So tonight I ask not for prayers for myself as I am now well on the mend but for the rest of my family who need strength. Tonight's message may not be one that inspires hope or excitement but it is certainly an honest request for support.
I know one thing for certain, in God all things are possible and healing comes to all in the manner of His choosing.
I'll admit that it is hard not to get despondent when you are ill but as I sit here I know that my circumstances are mild in comparison to others. My darling gran is in hospital waiting for hip surgery tomorrow and we received news tonight that one of my mom's cousins passed away, so it is a difficult season for us to deal with as a family right now.
So tonight I ask not for prayers for myself as I am now well on the mend but for the rest of my family who need strength. Tonight's message may not be one that inspires hope or excitement but it is certainly an honest request for support.
I know one thing for certain, in God all things are possible and healing comes to all in the manner of His choosing.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Blinkers
Some nights I just feel uninspired. The day wasn't good, but it wasn't bad but if feels as though I just managed to float through the day and even if it was work productive it just feels like we plodded along. Well then I've been walking through the day with blinkers on then haven't I?
In home cell we are looking at the gospels and it is always an interesting study. We have begun with Luke and like the book of Mark was probably written about 20 years after the death of Christ. This allowed Luke great opportunity to gather eye witness testimony's of the events that unfolded in the life of Christ.
Before becoming a 'fisher of men' with Christ, Luke was a practicing physician which is why the miracles performed by Christ hold such prominence in his writing. Although being a doctor is most obviously a noble calling, I am sure there were times in Luke's life prior to his calling that he may have wondered what his purpose was on earth.
The mundane and ordinary form part of all our lives in one way or another but when we view our lives through God's eternal lenses we may see a very different picture. I'd like to encourage you to look at your daily routine differently, God may well be using the ordinary to prepare you for a life that may leave a dominant mark in history.
In home cell we are looking at the gospels and it is always an interesting study. We have begun with Luke and like the book of Mark was probably written about 20 years after the death of Christ. This allowed Luke great opportunity to gather eye witness testimony's of the events that unfolded in the life of Christ.
Before becoming a 'fisher of men' with Christ, Luke was a practicing physician which is why the miracles performed by Christ hold such prominence in his writing. Although being a doctor is most obviously a noble calling, I am sure there were times in Luke's life prior to his calling that he may have wondered what his purpose was on earth.
The mundane and ordinary form part of all our lives in one way or another but when we view our lives through God's eternal lenses we may see a very different picture. I'd like to encourage you to look at your daily routine differently, God may well be using the ordinary to prepare you for a life that may leave a dominant mark in history.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Bad mommy Noddy badge
Today I earned myself another bad mommy Noddy badge, I locked the cats in the house by accident by forgetting to leave the window open. It wasn't the only clumsy, bad or naughty thing I did today but for this I feel the worst, but I really need to make some changes.
Sometimes it is only when being faced with the consequences of our sin nature that we are willing to acknowledge that we need to make changes in our lives. Funny enough coming to salvation in the first place is often through the same process, we become aware of our sin and recognize our need for a saviour.
Thankfully God's grace is there to save us and to bring us back to Him in whatever area of our lives that we need Him to step in, so if you are feeling bad like I am.....don't! Just look to God, confess your sin and He will save you!
Sometimes it is only when being faced with the consequences of our sin nature that we are willing to acknowledge that we need to make changes in our lives. Funny enough coming to salvation in the first place is often through the same process, we become aware of our sin and recognize our need for a saviour.
Thankfully God's grace is there to save us and to bring us back to Him in whatever area of our lives that we need Him to step in, so if you are feeling bad like I am.....don't! Just look to God, confess your sin and He will save you!
Monday, July 20, 2015
Just the way they are
I have reached a very important pivot point in my journey to discovering whether or not adoption will be in my future. That point is acceptance of things the way they are. Does this mean I am giving up and letting go of this dream? No, quite the opposite.
I have reached a point of accepting that my life is what it is....it is a result of my choices and experiences and it is the unique path that God has chosen for me. I have reached the point of acceptance that with all my heart and soul I want to have a child in my life but I'm not going to force things. I made a decision to never deliberately put myself in a position of getting pregnant out of wedlock and so too I am making a decision not to force adoption if God does not fully open that door in my life. I accept that if God does open that door, then I will be ready and willing to fulfill God's call to be a parent to the child He provides for me.
Acceptance brings peace. Knowing that I will do my part and do everything I can to make that dream a reality but giving the final decision over to God will ensure that I will truly be able to say, not my will but thine Lord! Perfect peace castes out all fear and when fear is gone, FAITH can be powerful!
Do you have decisions to make but feel as though you are wrestling through every motion? If so, then maybe you need to find acceptance first of where you are in life and ask God to help you to make peace with the path your life has taken.
I have reached a point of accepting that my life is what it is....it is a result of my choices and experiences and it is the unique path that God has chosen for me. I have reached the point of acceptance that with all my heart and soul I want to have a child in my life but I'm not going to force things. I made a decision to never deliberately put myself in a position of getting pregnant out of wedlock and so too I am making a decision not to force adoption if God does not fully open that door in my life. I accept that if God does open that door, then I will be ready and willing to fulfill God's call to be a parent to the child He provides for me.
Acceptance brings peace. Knowing that I will do my part and do everything I can to make that dream a reality but giving the final decision over to God will ensure that I will truly be able to say, not my will but thine Lord! Perfect peace castes out all fear and when fear is gone, FAITH can be powerful!
Do you have decisions to make but feel as though you are wrestling through every motion? If so, then maybe you need to find acceptance first of where you are in life and ask God to help you to make peace with the path your life has taken.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
I'm gonna wash those germs right out of my hair
One of those classic movies, South Pacific, had one really cute song in it and the catch phrase was, "I'm going to wash that man right out of my hair..." Lol! Well on Saturday I decided that after 3 weeks of mayhem and sickness I just had to do house cleaning. I decided to add a spot of sterilizing fluids into the cleaning solutions and would you have it.....as I cleaned house, I could feel those germs just being washed out of my house!! Whoo hoo! Well obviously now I am feeling much better, just niggly bits hanging around.
Well Ephesians 5:26 talks about the washing of the word, what does that mean? This refers to a process we can undergo whereby we spend a dedicated period of time focused on specific and determined study of scripture and allow the truths of God's word to penetrate our hearts and wash our thinking clean.
Have you given any thought to spending any time in scripture to focus on specific issues in your life? If not maybe it is time to do so. There are many courses you can do by attending classes or by doing a structured online study. I know that the times in my life that I dedicated to studying the word of God really cemented my relationship with God and gave me a confidence in His word and I would encourage you to do the same.
Well Ephesians 5:26 talks about the washing of the word, what does that mean? This refers to a process we can undergo whereby we spend a dedicated period of time focused on specific and determined study of scripture and allow the truths of God's word to penetrate our hearts and wash our thinking clean.
Have you given any thought to spending any time in scripture to focus on specific issues in your life? If not maybe it is time to do so. There are many courses you can do by attending classes or by doing a structured online study. I know that the times in my life that I dedicated to studying the word of God really cemented my relationship with God and gave me a confidence in His word and I would encourage you to do the same.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Gravity
While contemplating our universe the thought of gravity came to mind. We see and feel the effects of gravity here on earth quite firmly, but on different planets and moons there are different gravitational forces as play. The bottom line though is that the entire universe is governed by the law of gravity.
Scripture tells us that there are universal laws in the spirit that will never change: what you sew, you will reap; give and it shall be given; love one another as I have loved you. Have you ever tried to fight gravity? No, because you can't, you just won't win, no matter how hard you try. In the spirit it is the same, we need to learn to flow with God's universal laws.
If you've been feeling like your spiritual walk is hard work then maybe you need to check and ask yourself if you are flowing with God's laws or if you are pulling against them. Once we surrender to His will we will find that all things flow together much easier and our spiritual walk gains momentum.
Scripture tells us that there are universal laws in the spirit that will never change: what you sew, you will reap; give and it shall be given; love one another as I have loved you. Have you ever tried to fight gravity? No, because you can't, you just won't win, no matter how hard you try. In the spirit it is the same, we need to learn to flow with God's universal laws.
If you've been feeling like your spiritual walk is hard work then maybe you need to check and ask yourself if you are flowing with God's laws or if you are pulling against them. Once we surrender to His will we will find that all things flow together much easier and our spiritual walk gains momentum.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
New Horizon's
July 14th was indeed an exciting day at NASA. The New Horizons spacecraft raced past Pluto and sent back to earth the first photos of the final planet in our solar system. What makes this discovery so exciting is how long it has taken to arrive at this destination and the distance that the craft had to cover, that being 9 years since launch and over 4 billion kilometers from earth.
The craft will now head out towards the Kuiper belt and whether or not it will survive this asteroid field is unknown, but not probable. The vast expanse of our own solar system is mind boggling and then to think that we are still just a small part of a greater galaxy is beyond comprehension. Maybe with missions such as this Horizon mission and future missions to come we will still learn immeasurable truths about our universe.
Our God is indeed great and when we behold His universe it is so much easier to let go of our fears of the little things that ensnare us here on earth just fade away.
Acknowledgement:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33524589?SThisFB
The craft will now head out towards the Kuiper belt and whether or not it will survive this asteroid field is unknown, but not probable. The vast expanse of our own solar system is mind boggling and then to think that we are still just a small part of a greater galaxy is beyond comprehension. Maybe with missions such as this Horizon mission and future missions to come we will still learn immeasurable truths about our universe.
Our God is indeed great and when we behold His universe it is so much easier to let go of our fears of the little things that ensnare us here on earth just fade away.
Acknowledgement:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33524589?SThisFB
Monday, July 13, 2015
The show must go on
Okay so this flu bug caught me for longer than I thought it would and it has been a real struggle to get through everything, but because I'm still relatively compus mentus the show has to go on.
Pushing through difficulties of illness can be exhausting but tonight I am standing on one scripture alone:
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
If you are tired and weary, why don't you stand on that scripture too.
Pushing through difficulties of illness can be exhausting but tonight I am standing on one scripture alone:
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
If you are tired and weary, why don't you stand on that scripture too.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
A cold VS the Flood
I've been caught by a bit of a cold bug, but luckily not too bad. I spent yesterday at home resting and headed back to work today. The amazing thing is that I can feel that the human body really does want to heal itself and so I've been doing everything I can to support the effort by combining medicine with natural products like oranges, cinnamon, ginger, coriander and honey.
In much the same way that our physical bodies fight to be well our soul fights for its strength as well. We start feeling depressed and deep down inside you just feel something saying, come on, its not that bad. When we start to feel lonely, we remember that there are many wonderful people that love us and want to be in our company.
We fight these fights because deep down inside our spirit is communicating to us, saying you are a winner and you are made to overcome, rise up and look unto God as He leads you into triumph! We are made to be victorious in Christ and when the enemy attacks, the spirit attacks back.
Most of us have heard Isaiah 59:19 but I bet in your bible it is written like this:
"So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him."
I want to challenge you to believe that there was one small error in this translation and it is a simple comma. It should read:
"So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in,...........Like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him."
God's word is in us and it is powerful and when we add our faith to the mix of all the other good stuff.....we are sure to overcome any obstacle the devil throws in our path.
Go and be victorious today!
In much the same way that our physical bodies fight to be well our soul fights for its strength as well. We start feeling depressed and deep down inside you just feel something saying, come on, its not that bad. When we start to feel lonely, we remember that there are many wonderful people that love us and want to be in our company.
We fight these fights because deep down inside our spirit is communicating to us, saying you are a winner and you are made to overcome, rise up and look unto God as He leads you into triumph! We are made to be victorious in Christ and when the enemy attacks, the spirit attacks back.
Most of us have heard Isaiah 59:19 but I bet in your bible it is written like this:
"So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him."
I want to challenge you to believe that there was one small error in this translation and it is a simple comma. It should read:
"So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in,...........Like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him."
God's word is in us and it is powerful and when we add our faith to the mix of all the other good stuff.....we are sure to overcome any obstacle the devil throws in our path.
Go and be victorious today!
Monday, July 6, 2015
Motivation
We all love a great speech, a wonderful sermon, a beautiful poem or any other forms oratory works that lift our souls, grab our hearts, give us gusto and strength and set us up with the courage we need to tackle life's challenges.
Truth be told, it isn't that these concepts are new to us, they aren't, but what the do is to resonate within our soul and remind us of the strong and powerful beings we are inside. When we activate our faith and believe, we can achieve anything in life.
The pages of scripture are filled with reminders of God's love for us and I can think of nothing more motivational than that! When we choose to receive God's word in faith, His word then has the power to germinate in us the wisdom we need. With wisdom, faith and courage we can handle anything and succeed!
Truth be told, it isn't that these concepts are new to us, they aren't, but what the do is to resonate within our soul and remind us of the strong and powerful beings we are inside. When we activate our faith and believe, we can achieve anything in life.
The pages of scripture are filled with reminders of God's love for us and I can think of nothing more motivational than that! When we choose to receive God's word in faith, His word then has the power to germinate in us the wisdom we need. With wisdom, faith and courage we can handle anything and succeed!
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Whirl wind
This past week was a whirl wind week and I arrived at today feeling totally exhausted. I don't think I got to bed once before midnight. In all the busyness so much happened yet amongst the haze I find myself very clear on what I want and need in my life. No confusion just clarity.
The trick is now to work to make it happen. It truly is the first year of my life where I see clear purpose in almost everything I'm doing and experiencing and it truly is exciting. I have peace that the puzzle pieces are making sense and I'm grateful.
Where are you at in your walk with God. Are things clear or fuzzy? Are you tired and worn out? Are you tired of feeling drained? If so, I know so well where you are at as I have been there many times before. My prayer for you tonight is for peace, strength, wisdom and clarity and for God's divine guidance to lead you to a place of rest.
The trick is now to work to make it happen. It truly is the first year of my life where I see clear purpose in almost everything I'm doing and experiencing and it truly is exciting. I have peace that the puzzle pieces are making sense and I'm grateful.
Where are you at in your walk with God. Are things clear or fuzzy? Are you tired and worn out? Are you tired of feeling drained? If so, I know so well where you are at as I have been there many times before. My prayer for you tonight is for peace, strength, wisdom and clarity and for God's divine guidance to lead you to a place of rest.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
The tease
Our department runs a vending machine on our floor. In addition we have a box of sweeties and small chips that we use to capture all the loose change flying around. This week it is mine and another colleagues turn to look after the goodies.
Dopey here (me) forgot to pack the small tuck box away when I left work on Tuesday. Luckily for me no-one stole the box or the cash box either, but it was a rather stupid thing to do. One of my colleagues working in the same cubicle decided it would be fun to hide it and then tell me that they wanted something from it. Naturally as I started looking for it and could not find it I started to panic.
My colleague tried to contain his amusement but he has the naughtiest face possible and it didn't take me long to figure out I was being pranked.....Lol! Well I had it coming...tee hee! The wonderful thing for me was that this was a nice fun and positive way to tease me, but how often in life do we not see people do that to simply break people down or bully them?
Let us try to remember that no person, big or small, likes to have some part of their self esteem broken down. It is good to tease, but let's do it in a way that does not leave a person feeling demoralized.
Dopey here (me) forgot to pack the small tuck box away when I left work on Tuesday. Luckily for me no-one stole the box or the cash box either, but it was a rather stupid thing to do. One of my colleagues working in the same cubicle decided it would be fun to hide it and then tell me that they wanted something from it. Naturally as I started looking for it and could not find it I started to panic.
My colleague tried to contain his amusement but he has the naughtiest face possible and it didn't take me long to figure out I was being pranked.....Lol! Well I had it coming...tee hee! The wonderful thing for me was that this was a nice fun and positive way to tease me, but how often in life do we not see people do that to simply break people down or bully them?
Let us try to remember that no person, big or small, likes to have some part of their self esteem broken down. It is good to tease, but let's do it in a way that does not leave a person feeling demoralized.
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