Rain rain go away

Oh dear! When its too hot, we moan. When its too cold, we moan. When its to windy, we moan. When there is drought, we cry out for rain but then when there is too much rain, we ask for it to go away. All we do is complain. Okay but in our defence I have to admit, mankind was made for the tropics, all these vicious changes in weather are just plain difficult to cope with and with good reason.

What can we do in converse to complaining? Develop an attitude of gratitude but also where possible learn from the seasons, what they teach us and try to find a way to make the most out of the differing conditions we face. Some things are out of our control to plan for but it would be really great if governments would build smaller overflow damns to capture excess rains to store for dry seasons.

We may not be able to control the weather and the results thereof but we can learn to implement the same principles to our finances and spiritual lives. It is best to save when times are good so that you will have abundance through the tougher times. It is equally good to build a spiritual stockpile to sustain us when times are tough. How do we do that though?

When things are good, find ways to record scriptures, life lessons and messages that we get from God like a squirrel gathering nuts. Keep your favourite books in a place where they are easy to find so that when you need inspiration you have quick access to draw from them again in the future.

If we have a storehouse of spiritual treasure they will form the backbone of our lives in the difficult times. Tails up! Time to go hunt for some nuts.

Monster's birthday

Today is the day I celebrate my cat's birthday's and I had hoped for a pleasant start to the day so that I could wish them well before going on my way to work but this was not to be. The rain has really messed up their routine and they have been waking me up at around 3am to go out. This happened again this morning.

After letting them out I collapsed back into bed but by some means of 'mental telepathy' they managed to get me to open the door for them again a short while later. When they came back into the house they were totally psyched up and playful so I realized that going back to sleep with them with me wasn't going to happen. I put them in the downstairs bedroom but the lock is broken to I tried to use a spoon to hold the door closed and then came back to bed.

My eyes were no sooner closed when I heard scratching at my bedroom door. Somehow they had squeezed through the small gap and got out. I covered my ears and tried to sleep for a few minutes more, but needless to say my morning was ruined.

All this mischief however is nothing compared to the trouble they caused me on Sunday. I had bought them some catnip along with some other items that I needed. When I got home I put the catnip in the cupboard and left the bag on the bed and came upstairs to have a nap. When I woke up, the bag was gone. Needless to say a half hour later or searching everywhere and having a panic attack, I looked under the sleeper couch only to find the bag had been nudged right off the bed. They had smelt the catnip trace on the bag and gone after it.

Lol! Sounds like I'm really complaining but that's really not it. All these little stories form the wonderful memories of their lives that I will carry with me always. It is so hard for me to accept that at 9 years of age as cats they are now entering their senior years even though today's events didn't look like it. On the one hand I am overjoyed at the blessing they have been but somehow I also always get sad knowing that one day I will not have them with me any more, but that is the unfortunate circle of life.

Something in our spirits tells us that life is eternal but when we consider our time on this planet it really is short. So tonight as I prepare for bed I am eternally glad for the gift of companionship I received from my cats but more grateful to the gift of eternal life that we have in our relationship with God.

Happy Birthday Honey and Ginger. You'll always be mommies little babies no matter how old you are!

Not just a story

To some the enormous attention being paid to the Oscar Pistorius trial may seem barbaric and unnecessary.  I'm afraid I beg to differ.  In a country that held the worlds first truth and reconciliation commission it is only right that the exposure of this case is necessary to move us towards becoming a more just and democratic society.  For a country with the highest rape stats in the world and a seemingly out of control crime situation it may well serve as a deterrent.  This especially considering that a prison sentence no longer seems to do the job of making people stop and think twice before committing such vulgar acts.  Maybe the threat of public humiliation would do the trick.

This also serves to educate the bulk of South Africans with no experience or understanding of court proceedings that should you be a victim of crime, pay attention to what is happening to you and with proper legal presentation that you can survive a trial.

Does any of this have any baring on our faith?  I think it certainly does.  Many people fear their spiritual state and simply feel that they cannot come to God in their sinful state.  The evidence that we have from scripture is that our God is a fair and just Judge.  Our spiritual Legal council has prepared our case fully before our court of law.  Jesus Christ paid the price for our penalty!  He bore our sins and paved the way for us to enjoy union with God!

Therefore let us come to God in faith, knowing and believing that He is the Alpha and Omega and finisher of our faith!

Sounds of silence

“And in the naked light I saw, ten thousand people maybe more, people talking with speaking...” The well known song, sung by Simon and Garfunkel brings to attention the breakdown of communication in our society. TVs blear in the background, music plays in shopping malls, people walking around with earphones plugged into ipods, all listening to communication of one type or another, but amidst all the noise, is there really a connection?

We experience breakdowns in communication in almost every sphere of life. Husbands and wives stop sharing their days events and loose touch with one another, bosses give orders to staff but never listen to their concerns, friends mutter on about their day but don't listen to each others hearts and hurts and children babble with excitement about their day while parents watch TV. Can we truly afford this breakdown of the fabric of our society? I think not.

The breakdown doesn't end there. We wake up, rush to work, rush back, finish dinner, collapse into bed and maybe somewhere in between the hustle, we sneak up a prayer and somehow hope that God is listening. Now I'm certainly not saying that God does not listen to every word we speak to Him, but what I am trying to emphasize is that the true heart connection is lost.

If you have been caught in this spiral, don't loose heart and don't feel guilty, God doesn't want that, but try to find time for quiet reflection and quiet communication with God somewhere in your day. When you do, the short whispers mean so much more, the beautiful sunsets seem so much brighter and even the ray of light from behind the clouds will bring a sparkle to your day.

Wireless

Over the last two days I haven't been able to catch as much of the trial as I would have liked too. It is such a unique novelty to us to be a part of this that it has become the basis for many office discussions and lively debates.

What fascinates me the most though is that with all the advances in technology the most widely used technology to tune into the proceedings is still the radio. This got me thinking about radio technology and how far that has come. I can't remember what age I was but I'll never forget getting my first hand held radio that I could carry with me anywhere.

Work on the study of electro magnetic waves seems to have really gained momentum during the late 1800's with a variety of scientists contributing to the study. By around 1910 the first radio's as we know them today were starting to take shape. Now across the globe there must be thousands of radio station's broadcasting every day, and they are still as relevant today as they were when they were first created.

I know in Jo'burg with the hours that many of us spend in our cars the radio is an active means of entertainment, information and communication. The odd extra long traffic stint, like today with our unusually heavy rains, was certainly made more bearable with the radio going. To be honest I doubt that the use of the radio as a means of communication will ever end, but I'll not put money on that one.

If we can see the amazing timeless relevance of the radio today, how much more does that not help us to understand the timeless relevance of scripture which is God breathed and truly eternal. The word of God is as alive today as it ever was and it will always be so.

So........if we tune into our radio stations on a daily basis, how about we make sure we tune into God's wireless, the word of God and receive God breathed entertainment, information and communication?

Breaking news

The world has turned their attention once again to our small country. The subject of the attention being the ground breaking trial taking place before us in Pretoria, that of Oscar Pistorius who stands accused of the murder of his then girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. This murder shocked the country and indeed the world on February 14, 2013.

What makes this trial so special? For the first time in South African history we are being given open access to our court of law. It has certainly made me wonder if our country's history may have taken a different course if say the Rivonia trial of Nelson Mandela had been open for all eyes to see. How many other guilty parties may have ended up in jail if their trials had been open, we will never know, but I'm sure hoping that this case will pave the way for a fully open judicial system in SA.

It is so interesting to listen to the trial and the tactics that are being played out by both legal teams. Today's proceedings saw a trick I know I've seen somewhere before. The defense attorney made every effort possible to try and re-direct the witnesses attention, claiming that her recollection of what she heard that fateful night was incorrect. Sorry Mr Attorney but a gun shot and a cricket bat definitely make two different noises.... I'll leave that there.

Back to my point, where have we heard this before? Ahh, yes, the garden of Eden. The serpent tells Eve that she will not die if she eats of the fruit but that her eyes will be opened to the truth. We know the rest of that story. What we may forget however is that this is the devils primary weapon, doubt and deception. We need to remember that for time immemorial the devil has not changed his game plan, which should give us armour with which to fight him.

Know this, whatever you are going through, God is not confused. His directions are never fuzzy. If there is doubt and confusion in your mind, God did not put it there. Allow your heart to be silenced and listen to the soft, small voice that calls to you gently and with clarity, that is the Holy Spirit talking. When we tune our ear to God's voice we will always get clear direction.

Looking forward to spade work

I had taken last week off gardening in honour of the completion of the garden path round back but knew that this week I would have to start doing the digging to lay the final bed for the year. As autumn has arrived I know there is only limited time now to get the final bed dug up, planted and settled before the cold winter months set in.

Sadly for me it has rained the whole weekend so getting time outdoors was just not possible. For a few short minutes between rain falls I snuck round back to check on the garden. To my delight my granadela has its first flower so I may just get a fruit this year. Still being a relatively small plant I only expected a crop from next year.

Sometimes our best plans and best intentions just do not come to fruition at the time we expect. We should not loose heart when this happens as God has a plan for every day. He knows exactly how and when things need to happen in our lives. We need to rest in Him and know that every season will yield the exact results they should, to keep us on the path that God has planned for our lives.