The year to get it done

How bizarre! The very day I plan to write about efficiency my office PC crashes, resulting in a totally unproductive day. Now normally such events would send me into a rage but today it was easier to deal with. Luckily I have my Kindle application on my phone, so I managed to fit in some time for reading as I waited during the PC set up process.

I was meditating on efficiency being part of our spiritual disciplines and wondered to myself, can it really be possible to find more efficient ways to live out those disciplines. So I got to thinking about those 5 spiritual disciplines I have written about before as the 5 keys to spiritual growth and after much thought, yes I think we can apply efficiency to those aspects. Let me show you how:

1. Reading your bible: Reading our bible should be an integral part of our daily routine, but with our fast passed lifestyles, how do you make this happen? I have in recent years enjoyed using a bible application like Bible Gateway.....and would you believe it...they have an audio version. So just hit play and you can listen to the word of God in private while anywhere. If you are a busy parent, how about ensuring that part of the bed time routine includes a bible story for the kids and while they settle you can sit quietly and catch up on a chapter or two.
2. Prayer: We all find it hard these days to take “time out” to pray. So how about learning to include that in your normal daily routines? This applies to worship too. Washing dishes, walking the dogs or cats, sitting in traffic and doing exercise, can all be times which you can include God in your lifestyle and communicate with Him. Trust me God does not require us to be kneeling at the bed for Him to listen too us. No I think He quite likes it when we recognize Him as our partner in life and include Him in our day.
3. Reaching out/evangelism: Trying to live for Christ each day is hard when things go wrong, but when we make an effort and display grace in the face of difficulties, people will notice God in you.
4. Relationship with other Christians: We all hate technology for the distance it puts between people, but honestly if that happens it is your choice. I find technology, especially whatsapp has helped me maintain a closer relationship with my mother and friends. Just a quick text to let someone know you are thinking about them really can make a difference in their lives.
5. Praying for forgiveness of sins: Include this in your prayer routine. Ask God to make you sensitive to His leading as to when there is sin in your life.

Slightly longer blog for today, but hey, efficiency is not about the length of the text, it's about the clarity of the message. Hope this one helps you to think more laterally about how to include God in your daily life. I can testify that these keys are great help in my life and I pray they will make a difference in yours.

Evening star

A few nights ago while walking the kitties I was amazed at how bright Venus was.  It almost looked unreal, for a moment I thought I might be looking at an airplane tail light but its steady position soon confirmed its identity.  Curious about the spectacular vision I decided to check why it was so bright and learned that its position in relation to the Sun in January this year allowed it to be brighter than other times of the year.

If we plan to be spectacular in life, we have to consider our position.  Are we walking in obedience to God's word?  Have we applied discipline in our lives to achieve greatness?  They say that if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.

Today I'd like to speak honestly about the spiritual discipline of work ethic.  It is sad to me today to see so many people whom have wonderful dreams and high expectations but they succeed at nothing and wonder why.  The truth is that they simply did not work for it.  Success in life depends greatly on our ability to do what needs to be done in order to achieve and to be dedicated to the task at hand.  If we don't apply ethics to our lives at work or in our spiritual lives, then we will most certainly fail. 

I'd like to encourage you to take honest stock of where you stand with regards to work ethic....Do you do just enough to get by?......Or.... Do you apply yourself to whatever life throws at you with all your heart and soul?  I believe if you do, you will be positioned right and you will be the brightest star around!

The search for happiness

Today was a difficult day, systems just were not playing along and I really struggled to maintain my composure and my irritation levels were visible.  With the "real world" being so tough most of us romantically search for magical happiness and joy and seldom find it. 

I have heard it said that to fight poverty we must learn to live simply, so that others can simply live.  How does that translate in our search for happiness?  Can I challenge you today to simply think....What makes me smile?

Well for me there are many things that make me smile:

- A meow from my kitties when they are happy to see me
- The sounds of the birds chirping in the trees
- The smell of rain after a hot summers day
- When a gentleman holds open the door
- Finding solutions to life or work problems
- The sight of a friend
- The warmth of a hug
- The infuriating chase for a cat round the complex when they don't want to go to bed (Lol)
- Playing with any animals and the joy of watching them play (family time)
- When I turn the corner and I'm almost home

I really could go on and on, but if any of these made you smile, then know that you are well on your way to finding the source of your happiness and being able to hang onto it on difficult days.

The year of the Eagle

I am declaring this year 2017 as the ‘year of the Eagle’, as I believe it is God’s calling for us to soar and rise above that which has held us back, not only in 2016 but in the years before as well.  In order for an Eagle to fly it must first open its wings.  Bette Midler’s song “The wind beneath my wings” comes to mind and as I meditate on what it means to soar and rise above I realize that there are certain necessary components in order for our lives to take flight.

We are no more and no less the sum total of:

Our surrendered will and obedience to God + God at work within us + Those who stand beside us = The person we have become through the result of these choices.  

We must first choose to surrender to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, for God is a gentlemen and will never force His will on us.  Once we have surrendered our will to God, He is able to work in our lives to heal the inner wounds we may carry in our souls, to build character and strengthen us as we grow in Him.  Those whom we choose to walk beside us will either strengthen or weaken our relationship with God dependant on the influence we allow them to have in our lives.  The net result will be a product of the combination of these aspects and how we have allowed them to shape us. 

In order to take flight we need to be:  Surrendered to God; open to His working within our lives and connected to the right people.  When we have this strong combination we will certainly grow in our relationship with God in leaps and bounds and we will see His will beautifully manifested within us.

Will you choose to allow God to work in you so that you can soar to greater heights? 

Goodbye 2016

Well Christmas is done and I hope you had a fabulous time with family and friends.  As the year draws to a close I have a special prayer I want to share with you:

2016 has come and gone and the memories will linger on
If this year has brought pain through mourning and grief
I pray that in 2017 God will turn your mourning into dancing
If the year has brought you heart ache with a loss of relationship
May God bless you in the New Year with new relationships to strengthen your walk
If this year has brought sadness
May you know peace and joy
If the year has brought financial loss
May you know prosperity the way God meant it to be
If the year has been wrought with sickness
May God bless you with healing and good health
If the year has been riddled with weakness
May you know strength in every way
However if this year has brought you health, joy, peace, strength,wisdom and blessing
May you know all these and more in far greater abundance in the year to come!

Happy New year and all the best for 2017!!!!!!

Celebrate and remember

So the holiday season is well under way. I have reached the end of my first week of leave but unfortunately I will have to be back at work for one week before taking the Christmas week off. The break was necessitated by my nephew Daniels 21^st birthday which we celebrated on Monday. It was wonderful to be able to sing happy birthday to him in person this year.

21^st birthday's are always such a wonderful time to reflect and reminisce. I remember all to well seeing him on the day he was born, he was so small and cute. I remember the wonderful times playing with him in the back yard of their home in Roodepoort and oddly one of his first words was, “Outside.”

As the year draws to a close it is always time to reflect on the year that has passed. Sadly Honey's passing was a painful event to deal with but there are other good things to remember and treasure like Topaz arrival amongst other things.

We should never fail to take time to reflect and remember as year draws to a close. It helps us to put life into greater perspective and to know that whether the year has been good or bad, God has been with us all the way.

Mint deep

Well the weekend was uneventful, that is except for the bi-annual mint culling taking place. Mint culling? Yip, I pull out every tiny piece of mint out of the clivia bed that I can see........and there in lies the secret. Why do I take out every piece that I can see? Because the real mint roots are much deeper in the ground and the surface stalks and leaves are just the surface pieces.

Mint survives and thrives but making use of two propagating methods. It spreads roots under ground and the stalks and leaves on top can also become roots if that stalk hits the ground and the plant senses that by putting roots down it will obtain a ground holding position.

That should be a lesson to us in our faith.....we should have deep roots under ground and we should be able to make roots on the surface where they are required to cement our position and help us gain ground.

That speaks to me about having tenacity and courage to stand your ground. Sometimes you can face impossible odds but if you are rooted and grounded in your faith, you will not be moved by the circumstances.