The 'Rain' perspective

Certainly the most joyous events in spring are the arrival of the spring rains.  With it most certainly also come the storms.  What a difference there is between the gentle soaking rains and the devastating effects of lightning and hail.

Soft rains soak and refresh the earth, but surprisingly even soft soaking but continuous rain can also lead to flooding. 

All these natural fenomina are great metaphors for the spoken words in our lives.  Soft words heal and refresh, while harsh words like storms can cause great emotional devistation in our hearts. Continuous badgering and nagging can hurt like floods. 

The Bible teaches us that a gentle answer turns away wrath.  We are encouraged to speak wisdom with meakness. 

Sadly often our responses have become programmed into us by life's hard knocks, the way we are raised and the environment we find ourselves in.  The truth is that our words can be chosen and our responses reprogrammed but it takes a conscious decision to do so. 

What is your rain perspective today?  What do your words say about you and your God?  Will you help others to experience the love of God through your gentle words today.

Oh my, what a Thursday

Thursday was just one of those days when nothing went right from morning till night! 

I went to the office to work due to load shedding as my generator was not yet operational.  When I planned to leave the office my car wouldn't start due to leaving my lights on in the morning drizzle.

We tried my jumper cables, they were burnt out. We tried jump starting, car wouldn't go. Eventually I had to call roadside assistance.

Eventually got under way and arrived home to find I had accidentally locked Ginger up in my bedroom, poor kitty!

The evening was busy with doing the laundry but I eventually crawled into a clean and warm bed greatful for the day to be over.

Life is just like that, some days are ordinary, others really suck but every now and then a great one comes your way! 

God never told us life would be smooth sailing when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but He did promise us that in every moment of life he would be with us, helping and guiding us through life's journey.  With Him at our side, we can overcome all difficulties! 

Spring time and rain

Spring has sprung and with it some light rain here in Gauteng!  Over the last month I've been able to re-ignite my passion for gardening and the garden is getting some new life into it as well.  I know that I must achieve all the heavy lifting now before the temperatures rise too much.  I have already scattered hundreds of seeds and seeing the little leaves rise slowly out the ground, I hope and trust I'll have a beautiful herb harvest this year!  

My Clivia's are my favourite garden gold and this year thanks to much growth over the last few years I was able to split some off and add their beautiful cheer to the front garden and I look forward to them maturing and bringing me great joy as they bloom. 

For me, reorganizing my garden, reorganizes my soul and I find peace and strength in the beauty that new plants and new life bring.  There is always the wonder of what will my garden produce for me this year?  With that wonder, I ask myself, what will this season bring for me this year?  Its a time of deep introspection and reflection.  

In our spiritual walk our passion for God sometimes needs a kick start too.  We may have found that when hardships, like the season of winter, cause pain, sometimes we become a little frost bitten in our relationship with God.  Who would have thought that 2020 and the bizaare occurance of Covid would toss our lives upside down?  With it, there has been much pain, but at times some true joys and I find myself deeper in love with my saviour than ever before.  

This spring let new life, new gratitude for what we have, bring you closer to your maker as you look to Him!

How do you solve a problem like Corona?

So if you didn't catch it, that's supposed to be sung to the melody from, "How do you solve a problem like Maria", from the sound of music, and I think Ive seen a group already do that.  

Well, this is the question that has gone through all our minds over and over since this thing started and now is seemingly being blown out of proportion.  When it all started in China, I listened with half an ear not really that interested thinking this was just another bird flu, swine flu, SARS thing that would blow in and out without too much fuss. 

When it his SA and they announced the lock down I was all for it, sounded like a solid plan.  I was even somewhat excited at the prospect, that for the first time in my life, I was going to actually be able to productively work from home and spend some very good quality time with my fur babies.  It's at times like these that I miss my Honey-Bear, but life must move on right and Topaz has joined my family to fill his place in the space but never my heart.  Ginger is supposed to be in his senior years, but boy does this cat keep me busy.  Topaz is her darling boisterous self. The time I have had with them has been special and precious!

SA wasn't ready and in many ways still isn't for dealing with this.  Many companies scrambled to enable work from home setup's and some companies due to the nature of their service, have just collapsed because they are not allowed to trade, something which I deeply disagree with.  

The changes necessary both internally and externally have been overwhelming.  Some things are easily resolved, a good shopping app can get me most of my needs but it cannot give me a hug or let me know that someone cares and understands. 

Despite everything, one thing I know is that God is not overwhelmed by what we are going through.  He knows exactly what we need and how to bring those things too pass.  Many thought the church would flownder under the pressure of not being able to have services but in many ways this has brought church right into our homes and the heart of our lives.  

If you have been struggling to adapt to what life is throwing at you, then pray and ask God for wisdom.  He has the power and abiltiy to turn every disaster into a miracle.  Stand firm in Him and believe, God has got a plan for every one of our lives and this virus is not going to stop God's plans, purposes or pursuits for you

COVID Who?

I have asked myself a thousand times why I have not been writing feverously since the start of this COVID-19 pandemic, after all this stuff is fodder for writers.  There are so many stories to tell and angles to cover.  The truth is that I have been overwhelmed by it all.  We have never experienced anything like this and it all seems like a crazy movie. 

I don't think I can begin to describe all the emotions.  Gobsmacked, stunned, bewildered, delighted about working from home, confused, frustrated, angry, heartbroken, sad, happy, annoyed, challenged......I could go on for quite a while.  

The myriad of beliefs, conspiracy theories, contradictory news reports, figures that don't add up, it all just doesn't make sense.  I think I've about had enough and I know I'm not the only one.  

Over the next few weeks I will try to unravel all the inner mysteries of the work that I see God doing through the midst of it all.  When all is said and done though, one thing is true....... God truly is working in the midst of all of this, but for the time being, we just can't see it yet.  

God made us many promises in His Word, and one promise I hold dear and cling too with all my strength right now is this:  He works all things together for good for those who LOVE the Lord and are called according to His purposes. 

Love Him, Hold onto Him and He will get you through this!  

Reno-gard-nio here we go

After a couple of weekends of rain, a bright and clear Saturday finally arrived.  The gardeners make quick work of clearing the site to be paved and laid it all out quite neatly.  The Jojo has now been moved into position and I can now make plans to have it connected. 

To my frustration though on the same day, my sleeper couch decided to give way and it's legs are finished. So time to look for something else.  

Well that brings me back to the garden.  If there is one thing I have learned from gardening, it is that life if fluid and changes constantly.  My garden has been through many evolutions now and some plants have stayed the course and grown with it , while others have been constantly changed or replaced. 

Embracing an ever changing landscape of life is the key to survival.  Spiritually we must be ready to embrace change as well. What worked for your spiritual walk a year ago may not work now.  You will need to constantly reevaluate your circumstances and adapt your habits to make your spiritual walk stronger. 

I encourage you today to accept life's ever changing landscape and reap the rewards of a renewed relationship with God. 

Time to clear its throat

Autumn is, without a doubt, my favorite time of the year.  We had some rains over the weekend, but yesterday it rained almost non-stop.

So I decided that to celebrate the cooling weather it would be fun to crank up the fireplace and enjoy some warmth at home for the evening.  

Fire is my favorite earth element and watching the flames in action is just magical.  If you get the setup of a fireplace right the flames get going quickly.  Fires reduce the materials it burns to nothing but ash. 

The Bible talks about the Fire of the Holy Spirit working in us to burn away all impurities.  It separates the rock from the gold ore to produce pure gold. This is talking about producing goldly character in our lives.  This means that the character building process can be painful but that it produces qualities of great value in the end, one's that will earn us respect.  

Embracing these firy times is important in our spiritual growth, so I encourage you to let the Holy Spirit continue the great work He has begun in you. 

Just forget the world

"If I lay here, if I just lay here, will you lie with me and just forget the world." - Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol

This week has been tough and on Tuesday night my body was just aching. I decided it was time for a long soak in the bath.  Once done and and with the body aches gone I was able to drift off to sleep peacefully. 

Sometimes when life is tough and demands are high we have to learn to take a step back, relax and just forget the world.  

Spiritually speaking this is possible too.  By taking time to soak in the presence of God and worship Him and let go of all our troubles, we are able to find peace and solace. 

We need to remember the words of Jesus when He said, "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." 

Trust your Prince if Peace to give you rest today. 

Reno-gard-nio

The last municipal water cut we had was so frustrating that I asked myself, "why suffer when you have the means to fix things so that you don't have to struggle to survive these difficulties" .  I bought a Jojo tank to solve the problem, but it isn't going to be a quick fix. 

The area where I plan to put it currently houses my herb garden and after much honesty and introspection I concluded that my energy for gardening isn't what it once was and I need to make changes to make the garden less hassle to work with. 

Hence it has been decided that a garden renovation is now required. At the same time as making space for the Jojo, I'll also make way for a garden shed to come when the time is right.

I have heard many sermons on prosperity, but the one definition that rings most true is that true Godly prosperity is the ability to meet any given NEED at any given time. 

With that in mind I'll plan carefully, keep what's needed and then make space for more important needs to be met. 

Thanks for the mess

There are times in life when you just have to say, "Thank you for the mess Lord!". Certain storms hit our lives and before we wipe our eyes out they have rearranged the furniture and we wonder what happened, only to realize as time goes by that the storm was a gift from God.

When the dust settles we see the reason for it all and we can be grateful.  God in His mercy will sometimes allow small disasters in our lives to protect us from bigger disasters down the road.  It is these acts of mercy and grace that baffle the mind and often leave us confused.

It is however a Devine act of trust on our part that will take us from a storm to a victory.  When we learn to surrender and learn to trust His timing, His saying No, His authority in our lives to do as he pleases, that we will one day see the reason for it all.... And it is usually good!

Learn to go with the flow with whatever God is doing in your life, surrender to Him, trust Him, love Him with all your heart and you will see the desires of your heart fulfilled. 

Organized chaos

Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary theory stating that, within the apparent randomness of chaotic complex systems, there are underlying patterns, interconnectedness, constant feedback loops, repetition, self-similarity, fractals, and self organization...This behaviour is known as deterministic chaos, or simply chaos - WIKIPEDIA  [Ya right, like I really understood all that :-p] 

Chaos can hit at any moment, in many different ways and in ways and shapes that we do not understand.  Believe it or not, chaos can begin slowly and then escalate in momentum.  You don't believe me do you?  Right, let me prove it to you.  Rewind to late 2018 when I began my home renovations.  Sure by the time we started it did feel like all hell had broken loose, but all of that would not have happened if it hadn't been for a very, very, very slow dripping water pipe that leaked so slowly it took months and months to find.  This slooooooow start of leaking pipes, eventually resulted in a drenched concrete ceiling in my kitchen, which resulted in....you guessed it, damaged kitchen cupboards.  By the time the extent of the damage became apparent, I already knew what I was going to need to do and this resulted in the renovations, which lasted a few months and which sent my life into hectic chaos.  Do you see the pattern?  Dripping water = drenched cupboards = renovations = chaos. Slow to fast.  

The repetition came in the form of a few more months of planning, while I waited for the concrete to dry and spending evenings and weekends going through dozens of stores to look for supplies.  Interconnectedness...one thing leads to another thing and so on......and we've all seen that pattern go wrong.  But what does all this have to do with our faith? 

Well the one thing I always ask myself is, how do I move from chaos back to order?  The answer is simply FAITH! 

Faith stabilizes the emotions because faith is a choice.  We have to decide to have faith that God can and will deliver us from the chaos that our lives are in back to a place of order.  When we have faith, we know that God will supply every solution along the way and that God expects of us to use our persistence, tenacity and endurance to see the storm through. 

So if you are going through chaos right now, I encourage you to join me in these faith declarations: 

* My God shall supply all my needs according to the riches of HIS in Glory.

* Nothing is impossible for God. 

* God is my shield and my deliverer. 

* God is my ever present help in trouble.

* He has sent me another helper, stand by, councellor and He is the Holy Spirit

* I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

Amen!

Minute That

Tuesday evening we had my home complex body corporate AGM.  In years gone by I would have been stressed about it, but by now it is old takkie and I could get through it without any preparation the night before.  As has happened in years gone by, I had one particularly unruly resident who just had to make himself heard above everyone else.  Normally this would have sent me into a panic but this time I could not help but laugh, as the unruly member was none other than his royal highness, Mr Nibbs....AKA Ginger the cat! 

I couldn't help but giggle and all I could think was, this meeting is being recorded, I feel sorry for the managing agent who has to listen to this afterward and hear the meeting constantly interrupted by his meowing and me trying to shjoe him off the table.  It really was hilarious!  I have no idea how she is going to minute that, Lol!

The road of life has many interruptions and we often get grumpy and upset when things just don't go our way.  At times it really helps to just relax and find the funny side of things, make jokes and just generally be happy despite the circumstances.  If you can find life's funny side and ease up on all the tension you really would get through more difficulties with a smile.  God wants us to be strong and live life with joy and peace.  We should fight the attempts of the enemy to drag us down and do everything we can to smile, smile, smile!

Like Cannibals

I'll have to blame it on being hard of hearing, but when I was young and the Savage Garden song..."I wan to live like animals, careless and free.." started playing, my brain somehow heard, "like cannibals....."  - Lol, I kid you not!  At first somehow in the back of my mind I just thought, well alright then, whatever floats your boat....hehehehe!  It wasn't until a while later that something jolted in me to think....I don't think I have that right, and I went and checked the lyrics.....bwahaha. 

The moral of that that story is that sometimes we think we hear God clearly and we carry on our merry way believing that we are right, mean time God meant something completely different.  We really have to stop and think and listen before we really hear what God wants to say. 

God wants us to some degree to live life with careless abandon, to just throw ourselves into every opportunity that comes our way, to try things out and to learn something new and well if cannibals can be careless and free, Lol, how much more God's children who have His Holy Spirit living inside of us.  With that being said though, a care free spirit is not the same as a careless spirit and we need to know the difference.  

Pull yourself towards yourself

Sometimes we need to listen to our own scolding.  I was driving on my way home from work yesterday contimplating a new meeting I wanted to start attending but didn't really feel like it and I realized that my hesitance was due to the fact that my schedule was already over loaded.  One of my goals this year is to create a better home/work life balance and I realized it was time to do what my father used to say and "pull myself towards myself." 

I realized that unnecessary limitations at home meant I was blurring those lines.  One necessity was to get my home office sorted out.  Being and idealist I wanted a flat bed scanner instead of a printer scanner, but go figure, the cheapest printers are either half or a third of the price of a seperate scanner.  I had to lay down my preference and get the printer.  

The setup was long and tedious but eventually... printer done, check... copy done, check... scanner mpf, why does this thing not want to work?  I proded and poked that scanner to no avail.  Then it dawned on me that office and home printers are not the same and I needed to start the process from the PC itself.  After a while longer....walla, done!  

Sometimes we need to realize that exercising our faith is the same thing.  We cannot prod and poke the word of God and expect God to perform miracles on His own.  In most cases obtaining the goal will require action from you.  Most importantly we should pray to God for wisdom and what to do in our situation.  When we act positively on our faith God can direct our path and show us what to do, where to go, or whatever action is required from us.  

All the best for this year ahead and remember to, "Pull yourself towards yourself"!

Polished Gold

The other day I wanted to polish few Gold pieces.  It should come as no surprise that the items of jewelry that were more frequently used had less tarnish on them than the ones that were stuck in a drawer.  This got me thinking and I realized that there was more than one application to the moral of this story. 

When we use our gifts and talents for God on a regular basis, they don't gather dirt.  They are shiny and beautiful and all who behold them can bask in their glory.  When we bury our talents they get messed up and damaged by the dirt they come into contact with and they are pretty useless to all.  

Our relationship with God is no different.  When we rub ourselves up against the word of God, it removes impurities and helps us to shine the light and life of God to those around us.  I want to encourage you today to spend time with God, in His word, allowing him to work in your life and polish you up so that your beauty in Him can be seen far and wide. 

The Delivery

Today I had the delightful pleasure of delivering an artwork to a friend and colleague.  Oh the joy of being able to surprise someone and deliver something that you know they have been waiting for but may have let it slip to the back of their mind.  I absolutely love giving and receiving surprises big and small, they really make you feel special, especially if you are the giver.  Oh isn't that the wrong way round.... No, definitely not.  There is a far greater joy in giving something wonderful than receiving it. 

How often don't we rob God of that wonderful joy?  We come to him with our prayers and then we nag and nag and nag.  In some ways this could be seen as persistence, but not if you are whining about it all the time. 

God too delights in giving us the joys and desires of our hearts and yes you guessed it, he also loves surprising us.  He loves to see the joy and delight on our faces when we receive an answer to prayer.  So how about next time you are believing for something, you ask once, then smile and say, "Thanks God, I trust you with this one...go on surprise me!" 

Let God get in on the "giving is fun" game too :-)

A prayer for Oz!

Many thoughts have crossed my mind since the start of the tragic wild fires that have spread through Australia.  The greatest being an incredible sadness at the tragic loss of life of both humans and animals.

I remember the tragic mass tsunami or planet faced several years back and my heart cries out, "God, why is this happening?". All the innocent lives lost make no sense whatsoever. 

Sin is a wild fire that can sweep through our lives at any time and as much as we see this happening in the natural world, so too, sin has devastating consequences.  

The only thing that can wash away our sins and begin to heal the brokenness is an outpouring of the Spirit of God on us, to cleans us and wash away all unrighteousness.

God, in your mercy, please make ran fall in mass on Australia now and quench the fire on earth and heal their land. 

Load Shedding & Shedding a Load

The bain of South African life right now.... Load Shedding! And if you live in my area, just a disasterous ability to keep the lights on.  Poor infrastructure development and poor management all have us realing in frustration.  But parallel that to our personal lives and are there any resemblances?  Don't we all carry burdens that we just should not bare.

That's where shedding the load comes in.  Letting go of past failures, past hurts and disappointments and focusing forward on the amazing plans God has for our lives if we choose to walk in them. 

We are all capable of being and becoming more than we were yesterday, able to rise above all hindrances that may have held us back in the past and able to push ourselves to strive for greater heights.  

Paul said it well, "I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Chist Jesus."

I challenge you today to reach for more of God in 2020 and believe him for great things to come!