One extremely long day

It is seldom that so many challenges pop up in one day.  I was feeling emotional in the morning already, it was pay day, IT challenges kept me busy and we needed to start month end processes.  Its VAT deadline week and I really needed to get some shopping done.  There was a long list of emails to check, and boy, a bag full of paperwork that is just going to have to wait another day.

There are days when life just seems a little bit too much, yet at the end of it all I feel better tonight, exhausted, but better than I did this morning.  It is in life's chaos that I find meaning, the reason I'm here, the reason I am needed, when at times I feel desperately hopeless purely for a lack of feeling that my life matters for something. 

Then there is this, possibly my greatest purpose and maybe the only seed that I will leave on this planet once I'm gone.  My words, the tools of the trade of my heart are sometimes the only tools that I have to encourage others, encourage myself and if remotely possible, bring Glory to God. 

In my tiredness, my weakness and my frailty, God is mighty and strong.  He reminds me that it is in the times of life that we can't see Him working that He is doing His greatest work.  In these moments we see only in part, but when the mist clears and the fatigue fades and when others come along side us to raise our arms in worship to God once again, then we see His plan, His path and His purpose.

I pray today if you have struggled, that these words will lift you up, will encourage you and will strengthen you to know that you are not alone.  Others walk this path with you and more than that, God is right beside you!

Littlest hobo's

I was awoken this morning with the sound of plastic hitting the floor.  Not sounding too serious I decided to check it when I got out of bed.  When I descended the stairs I found a bowl of kitty food spilled all over the floor, this due to the food bowl being knocked off the box in the loft and falling down the stairs. 

Now I suspect the crime was committed by one of the many little furry hobo's that frequent my home on a regular basis.  Why just the other day I came home to find a kitty sitting on Topaz's favourite chair in my loft.  The sound of my arrival home didn't seem to startle it one bit.  It did have a hard time getting down the stairs past me and my hissing fur balls.

Makes me think, if little furry hobo's seem to enjoy my home, how welcoming are we to the other hobo's that cross our paths?  Well you might say you don't pick people up off the street on a regular basis but you entertain hobo's of heart, people who's lives are facing such challenges that they just need someone to talk too, someone to listen and understand what they are going through. 

This simple act of listening can be one of the greatest ways we can show Christ to people, to be His ears, His eyes, His hands and His heart to them in a physical way.  Being willing to say to someone, "Can I pray for you," could be the single most powerful act of love they will receive in that situation.  So next time someone starts chewing your ear off, before you get tempted to cut them off and run away, just think of them as God's hobo's sent to you that day and show them all the love you can!

Pressure pressure

I love my job and I love what I do.  Even though strong artistic tendancies reside within me, I still could not live without looking at numbers.......and yes I can hear some people just going Arrrgh, I can't think of anything worse.  The one tough thing about working with numbers though is that there is ALWAYS pressure.  I have yet to work in an accounting role and not face the daunting stress of deadlines.  The busier you are the busier you get. 

I wouldn't have it any other way though.  Take away too much work and I'll go nuts with boredom.  Being on the brink of insanity constantly keeps the juices flowing.  Yet in the midst of all of this, there has to be an island, a little spot where we can tuck ourselves away into a corner and just be....for me that's art and believe it or not, words are art too, they are the art of the soul and literary art is rich with imagination. 

Oh how I love to tell a story, to caste a picture or to bring back to life stories of old, and as I have committed myself to writing more regularly again, I can feel the call to throw myself in pure abandon to a world where words are my brush and I can paint the page blue without ever lifting a brush but to touch my keyboard. 

Stress fades, joy comes and peace flows when my keypad ticks away.  Knowing I can escape to this world brings great bliss and strength, strength to know that another day might come and go, and my time with my keyboard will roll around once more. 

God loves it when we find out island and he blesses our plans when we do, so I encourage you in the weeks to come to join me on this delightful journey again once more.

Load shedding or shedding the load

Our wonderful power utility provider/government are at it again....load shedding.  For the foreigners that's cutting our power because they SAY they can't handle the power requirements and need to cut power due to maintenance, and or that they don't have enough coal or they don't have enough money, etc. etc. etc. 

Now if this were true because only the poorest of the poor can't afford their electricity bill I think most South African's would cough up a bit extra, although I might be overly idealistic when I say that.  Truth is, they don't have us fooled.  We all know the real reasons for all the nonsense is corruption, greed, over bloated staff compliment, crazy bonuses, fraud, well the list is never ending really. 

This brings me to a principle my bosses are teaching us leaders, we need to help carry each others burdens, but not each others loads.  In other words, when someone has a real and genuine need then yes, by all means help.  But if someone is struggling because they are lazy, not focused, don't care or just plain negligent, then no, you're on your own to face the consequences.  

Is that scriptural though?  Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28. But the lesson doesn't end there, verse 29 reads, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart and ye shall find rest for your souls."  A yoke is a tool used to join two cattle as they pull a cart or other object like a plough.  So Jesus doesn't say dump your burden on me and relax, he says work with me, work the way I do and you will learn to find peace and strength in the trouble or difficulty you find yourself in.  He doesn't let us walk away from our troubles he carries them with us. 

This lesson gives me great comfort in life because I know that what Jesus is saying is, whatever effort you put into resolving your difficulties, I will match you effort for effort.  Are there times that God intervenes by miracles to get us to the other side of lifes problems, yes there are, but it's not the natural order of life. 

When we walk with God, we walk as partners in life, through everything!

What are you made of?

I am challenged daily by the decisions that people make and in my humanity I find it hard not to judge.  I question other peoples value systems and why they act the way they do.  The more I study it though, the more I realize that it is a matter of upbringing.  How we were raised determines a life time trajectory of decisions that we will make in our adult years. 

Proverbs 22:6 reads, "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it."  Our parental duty is to make sure that we raise our children to do what is just and right before God, which is to walk in integrity in everything we do.  To train the child we must sometimes force them to do something that they don't necessarily want to do, but it is required to instill character in them.

So what are we to do if we weren't raised in a Christian home, with strong ethical and moral values?  Well I believe this next scripture tells us.  Micah 6:8 reads [Own emphasis added]  "He has shown you, O man, what is good; ...........And what the Lord requires of you????   BUT to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"  In other words, it should be obvious; justice, mercy and humility must always walk hand in hand.

To not follow this guidance and Godly instruction in our lives, is to walk in rebellion towards God and God doesn't like rebellion.  He will use justice to work out all negative aspects of our behaviour.  Therefore we need to learn to submit to God and follow Him and then our path will be blessed. 

Sleeping Beauty

After two rough months of dealing with health issues, my body was just finished and exhaustion.  I went to bed early Saturday night, somewhere between 5-6pm, slept through most of the night without much disturbance, woke up around 6am thinking that I'd had enough sleep.  That didn't last long and after having breakfast I fell asleep again, waking round lunch time.  I dragged myself out of bed and had a shower and lunch and after a short walk lay down on the couch, only to fall asleep again.  This time when evening arrived I finally felt better. 

I think at times we forget that our bodies are not machines, we are not meant to be working at such a prolific pace that we never arrive at a place of feeling rested.   I wish I had a cats life, sleep for most of the day and have a short awake time early in the morning and then again in the afternoon or evening. 

Hebrews 4 tells us that there is a special kind of rest for the people of God.  It is called a Sabbath rest.  In modern day times we have lost the meaning of that word, Sabbath, but it refers to a complete, peaceful and total rest from all works.  When we learn to enter into the type of rest that God has created for us then we find ourselves in a complete place of peace and calm, knowing that God has all things in His mighty hands.  If God himself could rest without fear that His creation would fall apart, then we too can learn this kind of rest. 

I want to encourage you that whatever your circumstances are right now, you can still enter into the type of rest that God has created for you and find peace and strength in Him!