Bed time stories

I sometimes struggle to get my kitties settled at night, so a little trick I've learned is to just sit quietly in their room and wait for them to come to their baskets. I remember well the soothing feeling of having my mom read us bed time bible stories when we were kids.

So I decided that the time used settling kitties presented a wonderful opportunity to catch up on my bible reading. Being still really helps to focus on the word and get the best benefit out of it.

So if you're a busy parent, struggling to find time for your bible reading, try keeping your bible in the your kids room (out of harms way of course). Then once bed time stories are done, you can be still for a few moments and do your reading while the kids doze off to dream land :-)

Nighty night little dreamers.......Zzzzzz!

Oooops No GPS

Before taking mom back to the station yesterday, we both spent lots of time checking map books for directions. My prefuse statements that I knew how to get there by "following my nose," just weren't any comfort to my 'have to be sure' mom.

After much adoo we'd mapped out our course. Problem was, no amount of good directions helped as the streets were just not marked clearly enough. So in the end sniffing out my way worked once again.

So why does this techno junkie not have a GPS? Because I simply don't need one. In my early years in Joburg, I got lost so many times, that I eventually managed to landmark my way through most of the city.

When we are getting to know the word of God it can be difficult to remember where last we saw a particular scripture. To help with that I would encourage you to use a highlighter and mark these scriptures. No it's not sacrilegious to do that, it will really help.

Pretty soon, you'll learn to sniff your way through the bible without needing a search function. So go for it and happy marking.

Gautrain fun

Wow, wow and wow again! Today mom and I went on our first Gautrain joyride to Pretoria to visit my cousins and their beautiful daughter Zoe.

I can't say it was a totally new experience as my family was fortunate enough to do a European tour some years ago and we had used both the London and Paris underground.

The ease of travel, speed and efficiency made the trip an absolute pleasure. But think about it...... A train can on only run on an existing laid track.

When we live our lives according to he word of God, it is like running on a laid track. All we have to do is stick to it and the destination is guarenteed.

When Jacaranda's bloom

If you're a student you may have heard it said that if you haven't started studying by the time the Jacaranda's bloom then you've left it too late.

There is a season for eveything in life. The problem is that we often build an altar at the point of our success or failure.

We should remember that failure isn't fatal with God. He is able to redeem everything. Success should be celebrated in humility and gratitude to God for his Grace.

In both cases though we need to be able to pause to ponder then move forward into God's destiny for us! Keep on moving!

Caught napping

We all oversleep at some time, some more than others :-) Well this morning was my turn. I thought I'd hit the snooze button but obviously not. Jumping out of bed at 6:15 meant I had to move fast and change my routine to catch up.

Spending time reading the word should be a crucial part of our Christian walk. We all get derailed at some point though and the loss of momentum can leave us feeling lost.

Getting back on track can be easier than you think. There are many tools out there that can assist you with getting going. If you have access to internet, you can google 'Bible reading plan' and you'll be shown a stack of sites.

No internet? Don't stress. I suggest you start with the book of John in the New Testament and continue through the New Testament and then stop with Jude if you're a novice. You can track your progress with a simple spreadsheet or a manual list.

A bit more of a practical post for today, but I hope it helps someone :-)

Cool breeze

One of the greatest joys of a summer evening, is a cooling breeze of the late evening. It refreshes, calms and revives after a long hot day. In our spiritual lives the Holy Spirit is our breeze when we are weary.

The role of the Holy Spirit is not only to be our comforter and standby but to refresh our spirits when when we are weary. When we spend time in his presence he revives and restores us and gives us strength.

Maybe you haven't experienced his presence, if that is the case, all you need is to have a relationship with him. How do you do that? Just say this prayer, “Holy Spirit, I invite you into my heart, come into my heart and refresh my soul. Help me to grow in my relationship with God. Thank you Jesus that I can trust you to send your Spirit to me.” Amen!

Made to move

Recently I've experienced some problems with painful joints and hips. Hestitant to go to gym for fear of making the problem worse, I used that as an excuse not to go.

This week I decided to put excuses behind me and head off to gym. To my surprise getting back to gym brought quite a bit of relief to the problem.

You see our bodies are made to move and when we do we function better. The same is true for our spiritual lives, the less we move in our spiritual life the harder and more painful it is to do.

We have to make a start somewhere and once you do, momentum will follow. If your spiritual joints are a bit tight, I want to encourage you to get moving and ask God to help you to get back on track with him.