Goodbye 2023

2023 was indeed an interesting year.  As I look back on the year and reflect on this time, I do so with somewhat confusion.  It is a difficult year to put into words. 

There were so many painfully difficult goodbyes. Business relationships that ended and changes that weren't expected. New relationships were forged and with that their own challenges.

I celebrated my 50th birthday with a month long celebration.  An amazing trip to Cape Town seeing my favourite ballet, Swan Lake, was a dream come true. 

A lot of fun was had, but a lot of sadness was experienced as well. A dear relative passed on at a grand old age. 

Our weather was as confused as I was with snow this winter and early heat waves this summer.  

As I put these all behind me, and try to focus on the year to come, I am reminded of one key scripture:

Philippians 3:12-14

[12]Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

[13]Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

[14]I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

What that calling for 2024 will be, I know not yet, but one thing I do know for sure, if I place my hope and trust in Christ alone and listen to His voice, His guidance and strength will be my portion. 

So goodbye 2023 and thank you for all I've learned.  Hello 2024, I look forward to our time together!  

Happy New Year to you all! 

It's nice to see you!

This week was downright horrid!  Work was tough and then we ended up with being without power at home for 3 days.  To top matters off, the small bridge I cross from home on my main route to work started collapsing and the road was closed. 

By Wednesday evening, I was finished, physically and emotionally drained.  I arrived home and a few minutes later, the power finally returned.  Relieved but still out of food, I headed out to the store and decided to go to the small strip mall I frequented when I first moved into my home, as at that stage it was the closest one too me.  

Arriving at the mall I spotted my favourite Italian restaurant, and decided to stop by.  To my utter surprise, the waiter that served me was familiar and his greeting blew me away!  "Ah madam, what has it been...10 years since I saw you!". Wow! I was moved to tears (and still am) at the warmth and care that he showed me.  I managed to fight back the tears to enjoy a delicious supper, but the water works soon returned once I'd finished.

It was so wonderful to be missed and appreciated!  As a single women, I often feel unnoticed or appreciated in public spaces, but how this waiter treated me proved me wrong!  I left him a warm note of thanks, with a promise to be back and a hearty tip! 

We should never underestimate the power of the love and kindness we show each other every day!  Your smile, and warm greeting, may be the very lifeline someone needs to pull them out of the depth of despair.

This Christmas season, let us remember the joy we serve with and spread smiles and love to all we meet!!

A Beautiful Christmas

As I celebrate my 50th Christmas, I have spent a lot of time this year thinking about what this season means to me.  

A South African Christmas, unlike my picture, is hot, hot, hot 🔥!  Hence the reason Christmas in July has become a big thing here as we try to copy cat the American Christmas winter cheer!  

My passion for celebrating Christmas with gusto, strangely did not originate from childhood but rather following my late father's passing.  He has collapsed shortly before Christmas from a brain hemorrhage/stroke in December 1997, and sadly passed of 10 January 1998.  For many years after that I just could not celebrate Christmas with any cheer.  

As my soul recovered, I discovered a love for Christmas I had never known before and it has grown since then every year and this year for my 50th Christmas I have gone all out to make my home festive and fun. 

I celebrate now for many reasons.  As a child I fondly remember the fun my sister and I had each year as we put the tree up and decorated it together.  It would always be a summer of fun, with hours and hours in the pool, swimming until our toes bled (we had a concrete pool).  

At this time of year there were more parties and braai's and visitors than I you can imagine and we loved every minute. Mom was always baking something, and her Christmas cakes were legendary.

As a young adult living in Joburg, I remember going to Sandton City many times to see their giant Christmas tree.  I have worked through many festive seasons, ensuring that my colleagues could spend time with their families and although these times were often lonely, being home with my little fur balls gave me great joy.  

But what is all of this, if I don't speak of the reason for it all.  Is it decorations and trees and trips to the mall?  

No! It is about Jesus!  I look into the night sky over this season and wonder what it might have felt like for the three wise men to sojourn all the way from the far East to where this little child lay.  Or the shepherds as a mighty spectacle of the Glory of God and angels appearing before them.  It truly was a season for the miraculous!!  

God in His might had sent His Son, to start the journey of life that would lead to the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind. 

How can we not but celebrate that with all our might, and remember the proclamation of the Angel of the Lord, as he proclaimed "Peace on Earth and goodwill towards men!". 

How to lose a guy in 10 texts

 Andy Anderson thought she had cracked the forumla to get a guy to dump you, all in record time...that being 10 days. [Credit to the movie "How to lose a guy in 10 days"].  Well honey I think I have you beat. 

I have managed to achieve this magical feat of a dating faux pas in record breaking speed, all of 10 texts...give or take!  This amazing achievement was possible, all because the only thing I could confess to being attracted too about the guy was his faith in God!  ..........

Well now, in my defence, I'd only known him as single for all of 10 minutes, because the last time I saw him, he was "married with kids".  Hence, I had never looked at him with any interest at all.  

At first I was annoyed at him taking offense, but I do realize that I totally suck at the art of stroking the male ego, at least until I get to know you, then I can flatter like a pro. 

Sad thing for him, is he has no idea, how much of a compliment that was from my part.  NOTHING is more attractive to me than a man who loves God and knows how to worship Him in spirit and truth. 

Men of the world know this, muscles sag and faces grow wrinkled, but a spirit that is in love with God shines like the sun and attracts like nothing else on earth.  

Hopefully I'll have better luck next time!

5 Big Ones

It's my 50th birthday today and boy am I grateful to God for this wonderful occassion.  I am so aware of all the loved ones who have passed but I celebrate those who are still with us and have made this birthday truly memorable for me. 

I have taken time to think about the 5 big ones and reflect on what they meant to me.  

I don't recall much about my 10th birthday, but I do remember we were living in out Tambotie street house in Nelspruit.  The birthday itself was not such that I remember but I do recall that it was the year that I made Jesus my Lord and Saviour and as such my 10th year was special. 

My 20th birthday was spent at ABSA in down town Johannesburg.  I had started working at the bank shortly before on the 1st of July so I was new, so no pomp and ceremony there, but they sure made up for that on my 21st. I spent some time with friends and that was a time of dreaming and wondering what God had in store for me. My new career was exciting and I knew that I had big dreams to chase.

Well now my 30th birthday was quite the stinker!  The day was insignificant as I was temping at a motor dealership in Randurg .  That night though was one of practical ministries outings with Bible school and we landed up at.....drum roll please, the MORGUE! I'll never forget that one as long as I live.  Luckily two of my bible school mates rescued the evening by taking me out for dinner and a late night movie....  I do recall making up for all of this with an awesome breakfast with my landlords the Richardson's and some friends and family that were able to join me. My thirties brought with it the dream of owning my own home and i have been priveledge enough to spend nearly 20 years already in one place, and have so appreciated the stability that gave me in life. 

My 40th was at Ubank.  Mom came up from Kimberly to celebrate with me over the weekend with a supper with friends and some family, it was a relatively quiet but lovely dinner.  We then went back to Kimberly together and I stayed for the week.  My 40's have been kind to me and landing my current job at Auto Trade Underwriting Managers has truly been a life altering experience for me.  I am grateful for all that I have learned and the new heights that I have been able to challenge myself too. 

My 50th has so far been a two week celebration with a trip to Cape Town with my mom, sister and brother-in-law.  The ladies had a girls night out to see my favourite ballet, Swan Lake.  We had an awesome long weekend together.  On Friday my colleagues celebrated with me and today, I was able to retreat to my favourite place, Lifestyle Nursery for breakfast and some plant shopping and that was followed with some gardening and some time with my kitties.  I have another two days off so we'll see what else I can get up too.  

I am grateful to God for sparing me thus far, and as they always say, may there be many more. Not sure which Granny I am going to be able to beat, but I know the target is somewhere between 85 and 100, Lol!

Thank you to all who wished me well on this wonderful day!  It truly was appreciated! 

A Psalm of Praise

I received a love dare from mom, "Write your own Psalm."

Here goes....

I will my eyes to the beauty around me.  My home is a sanctuary of peace.  My garden is lush with life! 

I will lift up my eyes and give praise for my Lord's provision.  I sleep in a warm bed and have plenty of food to eat. 

I will lift up my eyes and sing praise for God's power!  He holds the universe together in brilliant splendor.  Why would my heart be troubled with the perils around me, when my father's Angels have watch over me? 

God of heaven, you are worthy of all Praise!

Back away from the door

Faced with a fight of flight situation, most people have a healthy flight response.  Now being a red headed Leo has unfortunately landed me in hot water many times.  Now tonights story isn't nearly quite so dramatic but it drove the "better safe than sorry" principle home in an unusual way. 

I had planned to try a nice new recepe based on something I had eaten before.  Mushy potatoes, baked fish cakes and a sort of lemon/coconut milk/margerine sauce with herbs, smothering some nicely cooked peas.  So I get home, knowing that load shedding is about to start and I haul out my Cobb to do a quick braaied fish and the rest of the ingredients to be cooked on the gas stove. 

I get the coals going and as I am about to go outside to lay on the fish cakes it starts to patter with rain.  Now at that moment, I had precisely the best opportunity to asses the situation and make a call to rather fry the fish cakes than grill them.....sigh!  What do I say to myself, "How bad can it get?" and out I go. 

No sooner are the fish cakes placed and a terrential downpour out of nowhere strikes with battering winds, leaving me totally flabagasted.  Now at this point I'm still in denial and I think, well it has a dome, maybe the fish cakes will make it.  Well a few minutes later of starring out the door, I finally make peace with the fact that my fish cakes were probably nothing but mush.  Well plan B supper was one of my old potatoe salad concoctions. 

So where is the moral in the story here?  I should have listened to that little voice saying, "Ronwyn, back away from the door and fry your fish".  But No. How often don't we make mistakes in life because we simply refuse to listen to what the Holy Spirit is trying to say to us (and save our supper too). 

Revelations 2:29 "He who as an ear, let him hear, what the Spirit says to the Churches."  Now that has far more reaching effects than my above scenario, but the trouble is, when we disobey the voice of the Holy Spirit with small things, it becomes easier to disobey him with the bigger larger and possibly more dangerous aspects of life.  

So as my fish cakes lie in the bin and hopefully lesson learned, let me encourage you to look out for the warning signs in life, when God is trying to get your attention.  

To me, better luck next time, but for you, I hope that you are a stronger listener than I am. 

 

Looking where you can't go

In the 2003 movie "Paycheck", Ben Affleck's character finds a riddle near the end of the movie that reads: "If you only look where you can't go, you will miss the riches below."  It's a fun movie go check it out. 

There's a strong point to be made here.  We all have dreams and in some instances, God in His wisdom has chosen not to grant them, and there is really nothing we can do about that, but to trust God and believe that one day when we are in heaven he will reveal the reason.  

One dream that I do believe I should be able to make a reality one day is to go to Canada to visit my dear friend Bridget and her hubby Greg.  Dreams won't become reality unless we do something about them.  This sank in hard with me as I realised I really wasn't making any headway in this area.  So I have to tighten my belt if I want to make this happen.  

That took me back to remembering a time in my life when money was VERY tight.  Through it all though I learned contentment and I learned how to adjust my lifestyle to cope.  Well, its time for some self regulation to make my savings dreams a reality.  

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forebearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."  If you ask God for these fruits, beware, He will test you in them until they become a reality, but the rewards of working through these is so great that the sacrifice is worth all the effort. 

I want to encouage you today, what are your dreams?  What would you need to change today to make tomorrow better?  Then find the fruit that matches that and chase after it. 

How Should We Pray

Most of us are shy about praying in public when we don’t know what to pray for and as such the best encouragement I can give you is to look at the answer our Lord gave to the disciples when they asked him, “Master, how should we pray?”  And Jesus answered them with:

So how do we translate this prayer into today’s language and maybe to something that is personal to us?  Let me venture an interpretation:

 

Dear Father God, you are amazing and holy.  Today as I come before you, I ask you to make your will known to me and to help me to follow your will for my life.  Lord, I present my needs to you, and you know them, but I ask you for provision in this [area of my life].  Forgive me Lord for my sins, I repent and choose to follow you.  Help me to forgive others that have hurt me.  Holy Spirit, protect me from myself today.  Help me not to yield to the temptations that grab my attention.  Protect me from the devil’s evil works and guide me and lead me in your truths. I love you Lord.  Amen!

 

Try taking Jesus’ template and write out your own prayer from your heart and once you have done so, read it out aloud over and over.  As you start to verbalise your own prayers you will become more confident to share your prayers with others. 

A-Choo

 

So it is time for the bi-annual allergies and sinus issues.  Quite used to this routine by now, lasts about two weeks then its done for the next 6 months.  Nothing serious, just the runny nose, sore throat etc.  

I have all sorts of remedies and I go through all of them to make sure I whack it from every angle.  One of my tricks though is to use a little dettol or savlon on the cloth when I shower to wash away all the current days germs.  I have truly found this little trick aids recovery. 

That gets me thinking, how do we wash ourselves spiritually?  Ephesians 5:26 has the answer to that question. "that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water, by the word,"

Interesting concept.  God is telling us that we are cleansed when we spend time with Him, reading his word, which is His communication tool with us.  Wow, I don't know any other relationship that cleans our minds and hearts when we communicate with the person, but that is exactly what God tells us He does.  

So if the bugs of life are getting you down, how about taking time out to read your bible and allow God to cleanse you, all while He fills your soul with His love. 

Can't we just go there

I look up at the stars and see the beauty of the Orion constellation, and I think to myself, can't we just go there?  Well Antaka being the closest star to earth at 1200 light years doesn't sound too bad.

Well ok, and forgive me if I get the maths wrong (blame it on Google), but at the speed of the space shuttle Discovery, it would take 37200 earth years to travel 1 light year = over 44,6 million years to get there.  Darn, that blows my brain. 

Yet one fact blows my mind even more, at that distance, how on earth, excuse the pun, do we even see it with the naked eye?  Because it is that enormous and bright. 

When people look at you from close or a distance, what do they see?  Does your smile radiate Jesus love and compassion?  Do you draw people to want to get closer to you?  Tough questions I know, but if your answer is no, then you have even more thinking to do.  

Ask God today to make his light and his face radiate through you! 

Whatever is lovely

When I started writing in 2010, I was going through a severe depression.  My thoughts spiraled constantly into negative patterns and I found it hard to be happy or positive about anything.  In November that year, on my late fathers birthday, I decided to start looking for just one positive thing about each day and write about that. 

Philipians 4:8 reads, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." 

I'll be honest, its not always that easy and I can truly say that when I find myself going down that rabbit whole again, it is because I have taken my eyes off these principles.  Focusing our minds on God and the beautiful things of life now really takes discipline.  The world is constantly bombarding our minds with negative news and bad reports, we need to choose to think God's way. 

 

A Divine Contradiction

Freedom inside the law sounds like such a contradiction, but that is exactly what Paul is proposing in Galatians 5:14 "For all the law is fulfilled in this one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."  This means that if we put others first and treat them with love we will never step outside of God's perfect plan for us.  

Now loving your neighbour can be tough, especialy when they are being down right difficult and causing harm left, right and centre, but when we remember the grace that Christ has had with us, then putting up with someone else's nonsense becomes a little easier. 

Next time you are struggling to love someone, remember that Christ died for them too.  He paid the same price for their freedom as he did for yours. That does not mean we won't have emotions to battle with, we will, but making a decision to love them will make getting through the difficult situation so much easier. 

Lasting Impact

It has been three months since my boss passed away and reflecting on this time and the relatively short time that I got to know him, he made a huge impact on my life.  He has left behind a lasting business legacy.  He touched our lives with his faith and determination for success and his drive and passion to have a people centred business. 

Thoughts came to mind of my own life and what I would leave behind in this world when I pass and I was brave enough to ask my team to share with me their thoughts, which surprised me and made me giggle.  

Uplifting - The ability to grab someone's hand and keep pulling them upward and onward towards success is not a job for the faint hearted.  Like children, people can get disheartened by failure and want to give up.  It takes strength, courage and determination to continue to motivate them to strive forward and not give up. 

Patient - (Ja right!)  Not a word I would use to describe to my self, when one of my favourate ditties is: Patience is a virtue, virtue is a grace and grace is a little girl that didn't wash her face.  No this is a different kind of patience.  Patience to bear with one another, patience to have grace with those who are weaker than you in any particular area, patience to perservere through difficult learning curves and to keep on training until the understanding is there.  Well for me that can be easy, when you have willing, eager and enthusiastic people to work with. 

Opportunity - Seeing the needs of others to learn and grow and being willing to give them opportunities to learn and push themselves further than they dreamed possible.  Well maybe that's because of my incredible curiosity and never being satisfied with what I have learned already.  But yes, I love to teach, train and raise others to higher heights, that is something I ferverantly believe in. 

An amazing choice of words and they speak to me so clearly about what the work of the Holy Spirit can do in us when we are hungry for more.  As we allow the fruit of the spirit to be developed in us, we will display characteristics that will change how we define our lives.  I want to encourage you to yearn and pray for the fruit to be made manifest in you!

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.