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!