Milestones!

Today marks my 100th blog! A very big milestone as I move towards my goal of 365. For most of us, at some point in our school career we would have had some training in having a vision and then goal setting. Milestones are important markers as we move through the process of attaining our short, medium and then eventually long term goals.

This process is no different in our spiritual walk. What usually sets most people back is the obstacles we encounter along the way. What we don't often remember is that these obstacles give us an opportunity to eliminate things that don't work in order to find what does work. Edisson is said to have tested many substances before he found the right one to make his electric light bulb work! Who knows how long it would have taken to make it work if he had not persisted.

Today I was hoping to announce the next phase of my blog development plan, but technical problems have delayed the launch! As frustrating as it may be I will not give up until I succeed.

I want to thank those who are faithfully supporting the growth of this project and humbly request your continued support. I hope that as we grow in God together, we may all reach our goals and dreams!

Love to you all!

Dealing with depression - learn to walk through darkness

Attached: Walking through Darkness.pdf

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Have you got it?

Passion - you know it when you have it and you know it when you see it. It's a force that drives us to do things we otherwise would never have the courage to do.

Passion drove Christ to the cross. Once he had submitted his will to his Father, set his mind on the task at hand and begun moving out of Gethsemane towards Calvary he needed only one thing to get him there - Passion!

His passionate love for us helped him endure the humiliation of a worthless trial, the agony of torture and the pain of death.

It was also this passion that gave him the strength to trust in the resurrection power of the spirit or God and the power to overcome the forces of evil in a dramtic, victorious resurrection.

Guess what? The same passion and resurrection power now dwells in you! .............. Use it!

Ghandi

There have been many great leaders in history that have taught us the value of making a non-violent stand. None more so after Christ than Ghandi. His message was clear, that a peaceful protest can and will yield a successful result.

This can be really difficult to do if you have defensiveness and agression built into your natural temperament. As we grow in God though our natural impulse reactions can be trained to focus in on God's word to help us gain control of bad behaviour.

The result in most cases will be that once you have calmed down you will soon be able to find support for your cause and be able to rely on the strength of others to help you through your difficult time.

So stop, calm down and go and talk to a few friends. Somebody out there has the answer you are looking for..... And oh yes, remember that Jesus loves you :-)

Getting started!

I don't know about you, but I find getting something started is always very difficult, especially if it is going to require some discomfort.

I'll take for example, getting going with studies each year. I find that it usually requires a surrender of my will to the task at hand. Once I've committed myself to the task, it's usually downhill from there.

I guess that is what Jesus was doing in the garden of Gethsemane. He had to wrestle with his spirit, until he was able to find that place of surrender. Once that was achieved, he could set his focus and determination to achieve what God had called him to do.

What are you wrestling with? Have you found that place of surrender yet? A resurrected life awaits you on the other side of your submission.

Seize the day!

Attending a funeral is always a sobering event. It reminds us of inevitability of our own passing. The other inevitable realization is how short our time on this earth really is. The question I always ask myself is, what will I be leaving behind? What will my legacy be to the people I leave behind.

An opportunity to witness the testimonies from a life that has glorified God in marriage, ministry, friendship and leadership is a true motivation to stay on the path that God has planned for you.

I'm hoping that in some small way I may be able to achieve just a little of that and inspire others to walk a closer relationship with God.

It is time to seize the day!

This blog is dedicated in loving memory of Ps Frank Donnely. Thank you for your love, dedication and leadership!

Packed like sardines

I remember a holiday in Cape Town a few years ago. Our trip had been planned to be flexible around the weather. One beautiful morning we decided to go up Table Mountain.

As we approached the main entrance into the cable way lift, an oldish Capetonian in a wheel chair was riding up and down shouting in Afrikaans, "Kom nou, almal in soos Sardientjies!" (For the non-afrikaans that means "in like sardines").

What struck me about him, was here was a man with a disability, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He had a voice... And he was going to use it!

This man's positive attitude was simply infectious! He certainly was an encouragement to me to look to the bright side of life :-)