tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48694243999591529292024-03-08T07:20:49.832-08:00A life guaranteed..."Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Matthew 7: 13-14Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869424399959152929.post-73103833152357456522024-02-01T04:33:00.000-08:002024-03-08T07:20:18.944-08:00Hallo Ma<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHqjhEyDc2vTgmjuum-OMayImnCUvz95OD2KHxLVtyUFiQRqisNwvHT_uEsYjc_TUkt7TYCyGa9orpaTJbKxCoXDSWl4R-Kt1STF0dCE36-sZ83KxVDYn0_08fyUycdDydvFBF4NboWmlhR-ic01wo47A4-HcLxE1nz55zjI0ZgwIJPi3hND-Wc8t7C8/s3024/11E50BC7-B75E-439E-949D-D1447E0D5B08.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2837" data-original-width="3024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHqjhEyDc2vTgmjuum-OMayImnCUvz95OD2KHxLVtyUFiQRqisNwvHT_uEsYjc_TUkt7TYCyGa9orpaTJbKxCoXDSWl4R-Kt1STF0dCE36-sZ83KxVDYn0_08fyUycdDydvFBF4NboWmlhR-ic01wo47A4-HcLxE1nz55zjI0ZgwIJPi3hND-Wc8t7C8/w299-h300/11E50BC7-B75E-439E-949D-D1447E0D5B08.jpeg" width="299" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">En net so het Ma se eerste hemel-verjaarsdag gekom en gegaan. My kop het geweet Ma verjaar maar my hart wou nie toelaat dat ek te veel daaraan dink nie. Ek ontdek nou op my eie rype ouderdom dat daar beslis ‘n plekkie in my is waar seer gebêre word. Dit voel vir my asof hierdie plekkie se deur net so stuk-stuk oopgemaak word sodat ek nie my asem verloor nie. Ek sal nie verbaas wees as Ma die engel wat daardie deur se oop en toe beman, self ge-interview en aangestel het nie. Dankie daarvoor.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Hier by ons het ons nog twee spesiale feesvieringe gehad op Ma se dag. Ma se jongste kleinkind het verloof geraak en Ma se tweede jongste agterkleinkind het haar vierde verjaarsdaggie gevier. </span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">As ek nie van beter geweet het nie, het ek gesweer Ma het dit so gereël. So het ek Ma my lewe lank geken, daar was nie ‘n berg wat te groot was om geskuif te word sodat ons hartseer met blessings verruil sou word nie. As dit wel Ma was, het dit gewerk. Ons kon lag en met sjampanje cheers, al’s is ok. Ma hoef nie te worry nie.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Ons het Pa se goedjies toe geskuif na sy nuwe plekkie toe en hy is ok. Ook oor hom hoef Ma nie te worry nie, Ma weet mos ons sal bly mooi kyk na hom. Met die oppak het ons van Ma se handgeskrewe reseppies en nog so ‘n paar hartsgoedjies ontdek. Daai engel moes oortyd werk. Hy maak wel die deurtjie so stuk-stuk oop na daai dag en die seer skiet so elke nou en dan van die seerplek af op. Ek moet nog uitfigure hoe beheer mens jou oë, want lyk my trane se deur maak nie lekker toe nie.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Ons mis Ma so oneindig baie. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Daar is nog soveel wat ek vir Ma wil vertel maar ek dink ek moet dit maar so stuk stuk doen. Elke keer as ek by Ma se kamer by Frailcare verbystap se ek ‘Hallo Ma’ in my kop. Ek hoop Ma hoor my.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Ma se pienk voorskootjie het nou ‘n nuwe plek in my kombuis gekry na pa se trek. Die kos vlekkies wat Ma nie kon uitkry nie, is nou kosbaarder as kosbaar vir ons. Elke een ‘n herinnering aan die ure wat Ma agter die stoof deurgebring het om ons almal te voer. Dit was Ma se gelukkigste plek en ook Ma se mees geseënde taak - om ons almal om Ma se tafel te sien, was al wat Ma ooit wou hê. Ons sal dit nooit vergeet nie. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Die volgende woorde, gepen deur CJ Langenhoven, som Ma se lewe so mooi vir ons op en ons het dit gekies om op Ma se grafsteentjie te sit. Hy’t geskryf: “Deur twee dinge is my lewe vir my leefbaar gemaak; die liefde wat ek gegee het, en die liefde wat ek gekry het.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Ma laat groot spore agter en ons hoop Ma het ons liefde net soveel beleef as wat ons Ma s’n het, en al is Ma nie meer hier nie, voel ons dit nog sterker as ooit. Die kleinste ou voetjies in ons familie is nou ‘n hele 44 daggies oud. Ek beloof om haar alles van ma te vertel. My gebed is dat daardie ou klein voetjies stewig sal trap in die paadjie wat haar Oumagrootjie vir haar, en die res van ons, uitgetrap het.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Ek hoop Ma’t lekker verjaar. Daai groot bos blomme wat daar Bo aangekom het was van ons almal.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">En ek hoor my Ma se stem asof sy hier by my staan en sy sê sonder twyfel: “I love you more.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869424399959152929.post-80367520707901529962022-12-25T05:51:00.041-08:002023-03-04T23:23:17.702-08:00Unconditional love - the greatest gift of all.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOiifscp-Z0X4Uc7pYY_e1eqjxn32PVZ5IcpfIUqfv0w7ZHpaaUAQrZJYQIxNY3_cHZSw4XuYIbDNIY6rdvaPZ1czw21p_bIGhxGFtqpcRUniIwZUZzxZAjiYjHLdiZ826GdTlHGhZ9XFT8P52qH0dRM-qbdaFlpR3GrfKABKFcoVIVaqqpiCDE84J/s1610/13B25907-5116-4AD7-98D8-2DEF267958E3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1610" data-original-width="1124" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOiifscp-Z0X4Uc7pYY_e1eqjxn32PVZ5IcpfIUqfv0w7ZHpaaUAQrZJYQIxNY3_cHZSw4XuYIbDNIY6rdvaPZ1czw21p_bIGhxGFtqpcRUniIwZUZzxZAjiYjHLdiZ826GdTlHGhZ9XFT8P52qH0dRM-qbdaFlpR3GrfKABKFcoVIVaqqpiCDE84J/s320/13B25907-5116-4AD7-98D8-2DEF267958E3.jpeg" width="223" /></a></div><p>Today is Christmas, a day of reflection, gratitude and celebration. It is also one of the saddest days of the year for many. </p><p>As I clear the dishes left from our own family meal, I find myself reflecting on how sadness has sneakily creeped into my own life, taking up space right next to love, gratitude and happiness. I remind myself of the importance of not allowing it to overshadow the legitimate tenants of my head and heart, sadness is limited to enjoy short visits only.</p><p>Our tables are still filled with laughter, good food and crackers, but the empty chairs are stark reminders of the reality of a life lived here on earth. Nothing remains the same. Life in our own country in particular has become incredibly challenging and the reality is that many families have decided to emigrate. We were not exempt. Parts of our family heart is now scattered all over the world. </p><p>We will celebrate Christmas with them during whichever month of the year we are able to see each other. Christmas in July could very well become Christmas in February, March or October and it will be as special as the real thing! So I'll allow sadness to stay for a little while only.</p><p>One empty chair in particular stands out this year. That of my mother, who has been in frail care for a number of years now. Christmas celebrations around her table are forever etched in my memory. Her food was always prepared with so much love and her home was warm and welcoming. The importance of remembering the real reason for celebrating Christmas was never forgotten. After our gathering yesterday, we took Christmas to her. </p><p>She looked so tiny in her big hospital bed. We put on Christmas music and as Nat King Cole sang about chestnuts on an open fire and children putting on their smiles, we did exactly that. We put on our biggest smiles and filled her room with love, the only gift that has any true value for her in this season of her life. We laughed around her bed and true to form, she even managed to make us laugh as well with a comment or word here and there, reminding us of her particular style of humour. What a priceless gift that was, considering that we were not sure that we would get any response from her at all. Sadness was allowed to stay for a little while only.</p><p>I don't know how present sadness is in your Christmas. I suspect that we all have our fair share of it, whether we invited it in or not. For me, I choose to counter sadness with everything I have. As a surfer learns to ride out a wave before being engulfed by it, I choose to stay standing, even as the next wave heads my way.</p><p>If this is a sad or lonely time for you, know that you are loved more than you can ever imagine, even though it might not feel so right now. Matthew 28:20 says: 'I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' These are the words of the Lord, the One who created us. It is a promise for right now, tomorrow and forever. He also says in Jeremiah 29:11 that we should search for Him with all our hearts and that His plan for us is not to harm us but to give us peace, a future and hope. </p><p>In John 16:33 a harsh reality is cushioned on both sides by both a precious promise and a truth: 'These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. <i>In the world you will have tribulation;</i> but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.'</p><p>I can think of no better role model than my mother - she is someone who lived out (and still does, even in her hospital bed), everything that I have been taught to believe, as is written in the Bible. She developed Rheumatoid Arthritis in her forties. Now in her eighties, she has been crippled by it. At this stage a host of other health challenges have been added to what she has to deal with on a daily basis. Despite all of this, her faith has never wavered. I remember saying to her a few years ago that because of her example, my own faith was shaped and cemented. If she did not blame or condemn the Lord for her suffering here on earth, who am I to question Him. She has set the standards high, along with a number of my friends who bravely fought incredibly hard battles with cancer and MSA. They too, grew in faith the harder their earthly battles became.</p><p>Sadness is only allowed to stay for a while.</p><p>The one common thing that I see in my mother and all the other people whom I hold in high esteem as treasured personal role models, is that they all truly embraced the fruits of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-23: 'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such there is no law.'</p><p>I will never forget the moment she looked into my son's eyes yesterday as he showed her his little girl. Intently focussed on him, she said "I don't know who you are, but I love you." When I told her a while later that we love her, she countered with: "And I love you all more."</p><p>The purest, loved-filled heart never forgets. Never. Words and memories might be all jumbled for her right now but her love remains steadfast. </p><p>What an example.</p><p>As we celebrate Christmas today, I remind you of the words of the well known song, 'Mary did you know', it goes like this: 'Mary did you know that your baby is Lord of all creation?' All creation. That includes all of us, no-one is left out.</p><p><i>That </i>is what we celebrate today.</p><p>So if you are feeling sad or lonely, even forgotten on this day, I hope these reflections have given you hope. You are loved, you <i>do</i> matter and there <i>is</i> hope. I believe this with my whole heart.</p><p>From our home to yours, we wish you a blessed Christmas. </p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869424399959152929.post-72726618526837851442021-02-20T06:37:00.015-08:002021-02-20T06:58:16.012-08:00Prayer in the time of Covid.<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJuVTox3BLpF3JgM70lfGj-37YsnjzTrk1IPc3k4cTg4cgqd0eyrIa6a0gB1_HoZ23Il2IzGEWBv5PxLvKfIfPnmfGAezmDgKhYhO7j6RW9UziLSI26Syr0L8FGDM6KSweU2nv30Ieu0/s2048/F15101F2-504C-4690-BA4A-739AA3C99D8B.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2005" data-original-width="2048" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJuVTox3BLpF3JgM70lfGj-37YsnjzTrk1IPc3k4cTg4cgqd0eyrIa6a0gB1_HoZ23Il2IzGEWBv5PxLvKfIfPnmfGAezmDgKhYhO7j6RW9UziLSI26Syr0L8FGDM6KSweU2nv30Ieu0/w200-h196/F15101F2-504C-4690-BA4A-739AA3C99D8B.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p></blockquote></blockquote><p>Inspiration has been lukewarm during the past months. Sometime in January of 2021 though, the title 'Prayer in the time of Covid' fell into my soul like a heavy bag. A heavy sand filled bag. One that I knew I couldn't ignore. In October 2020 I had written the words of Psalm 119:133, 'Direct my steps by Your Word', on my blackboard. So I already knew that the the words I was looking for to encourage, guide and console when praying in this very intense time we are living in, would be found in the Bible. I just had to look for it.</p><p>As I navigated my way through wisdom penned so far back in time, I felt a very specific prayer developing. A prayer that would be made up of words dealing with faithfulness, truths, warnings, fear, pleading, requests, promises. A heavy bag. I started writing down the verses as I found them. A whole A4 page of them. </p><p>Around me, I felt the Covid net being pulled tighter as friends and family battled the monster that had turned their lives upside down. Turned all of our lives upside down. People were literally fighting for their lives and for the first time, people we knew were being hospitalised, one after the other. Family, friends, friends of friends. Before I could unscramble the verses I had found to compose a meaningful prayer that I could pray when I couldn't think straight, I found myself in a hospital garden with friends, all of us begging the Lord to save the life of a father, a husband, a grandfather, a friend.</p><p>And then I realised the real truth of praying in the time of Covid. It is no different than any of the other prayers we should be praying. The same truths, the same promises and everything else that the Father teaches us about praying and communicating with Him, applies in a time of desperation.</p><p>So, as we prayed together and individually over days to come, I learnt to dig deep. I discovered again that bargaining with the Lord, feeling anger because suffering is so hard and seems so unfair, begging for another chance that might very well not be granted in the way that we expect - all of these are very real emotions. As humans, in times like these we negotiate and beg, we feel both anger and sadness in the midst of fear but mostly, the feeling of helplessness can threaten to overwhelm us like a powerful tsunami. It is at that point of utter helplessness, I discovered, that true prayer starts pouring forth from our hearts. I learnt that the simple words, 'let Your will be done Father', is the most powerful prayer we could ever pray.</p><p>As difficult as it is to accept or understand, asking for the Lord's will for our lives and the lives of those whom we love, seems both the most beautiful and the hardest truth to embrace. </p><p>I'm learning that speaking to the Lord should be as normal as speaking to someone very close to you. So praying equals conversations with the Father. The language we use to speak to Him is gentle but powerful and is heartfelt, much more specific and much more sacred than any other language you will ever learn. It has to become a way of life if it is to be meaningful. It doesn't have to be complicated and when we don't have the right words, the wisest advice is to be found in the powerful words of Psalm 46:10 - 'Be still and know that I am God'.</p><p>Some of those included in our prayers have managed to ride the Covid storm and are busy recovering. Some are fragile and are locked away in homes for the frail, living on edge, separated from their loved ones. Every now and then, those tasked with caring for them are the very ones who inadvertently bring the virus to them. And then we get on the bargaining treadmill again with fear and anger propelling us ever forward.</p><p>Some didn't make it. Their wave crashed and very nearly drowned all of those riding with them. </p><p>Still, we pray. </p><p>It can't always rain, my mother always used to say. The sun has to shine again sometime. As hard as this journey is, I choose to believe those words I wrote down on my A4 piece of paper.</p><p>Prayer in the time of Covid, I discovered, is no different to the prayers we pray every day.</p><p>When we are struggling to stay afloat, with waves crashing all over us, the words of Isaiah 43:2 offers this consolation: 'When you pass through the waters, I <i>will </i>be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.'</p><p>The words of Isaiah 43:5 furthermore state: 'Fear not, for I <i>am </i>with you...' </p><p>James 5:16 teaches: 'The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.'</p><p>When it feels too hard to take one more step, this encouragement is found in James 5:11: 'Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end <i>intended </i>by the Lord - that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.'</p><p>In January 2018 I discovered a verse that has since has become a firm foundation for my life. Luke 9:10: 'Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.'</p><p>Nobody goes to war without ammunition and with this promise alone, I feel as if I am equipped with all the artillery that I could possibly need. </p><p>In conclusion, let's remind ourselves during this time, when anxiety threatens to smother us, of the reassuring words of Philippians 4:6 : 'Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God...'</p><p>Be open to the lessons that we are supposed to be learning during a time when nothing seems 'normal' any more. Don't miss what is behind the gentle nudges and the sometimes not-so-gentle shaking. </p><p>That is what I am trying my best to do. </p><p>And when I am truly at a loss as to what to pray, I will remember our Father's words, spoken in prayer as He fell on His face in the garden of Gethsemane before being crucified: "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You <i>will." </i>(Matthew 26:39)</p><p>He prayed this prayer three times.</p><p>May we receive the grace to make this our plea as well.</p><p>'Let <i>Your</i> will be done o Lord.'</p><p>Amen</p><p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869424399959152929.post-56914888783133095572020-04-10T17:51:00.000-07:002020-06-20T02:08:26.454-07:00Nowhere to go. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I looked at my own reflection in the mirror as I dried my hair this morning, I found myself asking the question: "Why are you doing this, you have nowhere to go?".<br />
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I have nowhere to go. Millions of people all over the world are facing the exact same predicament. We have nowhere to go. Life as we know it will probably never be the same again and even once we are allowed to move around freely, I suspect the statement will change from 'you have nowhere to go', to 'where to now?'.<br />
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Where to, once we step back into a world that has been shaken to it's very core. A world that has questioned and cried out in the midst of chaos: "Where are You God?". Where is the God who answers prayers and whose very core is made up of love, grace and mercy? Has He deserted us and is it fair to say we have nowhere to go because He has given up on us?<br />
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While I continued to dry my hair, I found myself answering my own question. "Just because you have nowhere to go, don't stop."<br />
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Don't stop.<br />
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Are we missing so much that we have reached the point where life, as we knew it, simply had to change so that we had no choice but to sit up and take note? Psalm 139:16 reads: "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me. When <i>as yet there were </i>none of them."<br />
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So before I was even born, all my days had been set out for me. This truth is confirmed in the well known words of Jeremiah 29:11 which says: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."<br />
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I therefore refuse to believe that I have nowhere to go. I will not stop. I will continue, not only to believe <i>in</i> God, but to truly <b>believe </b>Him. So when I read these words in 1 Corinthians 14:33: "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace...", I will rest in that.<br />
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Can it be that God, who has assured us that before we even entered this world, we were perfectly knitted together with a clear, safe path set out for us, has sent us in lockdown so that we can get back on that path? Have we, as a world, strayed so far that we should view this crisis as a lifeline that has mercifully been cast our way?<br />
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Will a God of love, a God who reassures us in 1 John 5:14 that we have the confidence in Him to ask anything according to His will and He will hear us, leave us with nowhere to go? Is this not a call to return to His word and search for the truth that we as humanity have clearly discarded so long ago?<br />
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We are being stripped of so much - businesses and economies are failing, people are dying and morale is at an all time low, especially today, as we woke up to the new reality of an extended lockdown. An extended period of no income and the reality that our economy will most likely take years to recover.<br />
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The world is crying. People are dying alone, frontliners are working tirelessly amidst the chaos and it seems as if joy, prosperity and freedom have become concepts of the past. But amidst the tears, I choose to look for solace in the words of Psalm 126:5 which says: "Those who sow in tears will reap in joy."<br />
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If we can remain on our knees whilst mourning our losses, not only during this season, but always, our tears will not go unseen. The Lord promises in Matthew 6:26: "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"<br />
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Today is Good Friday, the holiest day on the calendar for believers in Jesus Christ. How apt that we celebrate this in the midst of the crisis we find ourselves in. Reflecting on the day that our Lord was locked down on a wooden cross.<br />
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To the humans around him at the time it must have seemed as if He had nowhere to go after that. In their ignorance, they even rolled a boulder in front of His tomb so that His body could not be removed.<br />
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Apart from everything that happened on the day of the crucifixion, I would like to remind you of something that happened the evening before. Jesus had gone to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. These are the words of Matthew 26:39: " He (Jesus) went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You <i>will," </i>Jesus put this request to His Father two more times. How often do we forget this lesson? Jesus Himself gave us the ultimate example of how to pray and how to walk in faith.<br />
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"Let <i>Your</i> will be done... " These are the words that will ultimately guide us back to the path that we were originally called to walk, a sacred path determined for us even before we were born.<br />
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We may have nowhere to go right now but this too will pass and I will cling to the words Jesus spoke in Mark 9:23: "...all things <i>are </i>possible to him who believes." <br />
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<i> Emilene Ferreira</i><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869424399959152929.post-1331224988242905412019-09-05T16:27:00.001-07:002019-09-06T06:44:49.356-07:00Can you hold space for someone?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For a while now, I've been thinking about the concept of 'holding space' for someone. This is the kind of space one creates when you choose to walk alongside or stand in for another person. My curiosity was sparked by an article that I read about the topic and I thought it would be interesting to explore the importance of implementing this as a way of living. </div>
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The idea of creating space for, or sharing space with someone is not something new to me, I have just never heard it put that way. Holding space for someone. I liked the idea.</div>
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In the article the author wrote about how their family had someone who comforted them while her mother was dying, helping them cope whilst they in turn were carrying their mother during her battle with cancer. Supporting each other whilst things were dark and difficult. Holding space for one another.</div>
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I wondered how one should view this concept, from a Christian perspective. I turned to the back of my Bible to find reference to the word 'space'. There was none. So I asked myself the question - in the context of 'holding space' for someone, what word would come closest?<br />
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It seemed to me that the word 'time' would be pretty close. Sharing your space and your time on this earth by engaging mindfully with someone else and thus investing in their life, sounded like a match to me. Different words, same meaning.</div>
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The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that this way of life is not an option or a mere suggestion. It sounded like a definite instruction, something that we are meant to live by.<br />
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Ponder upon this:</div>
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'<i>This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.' - John 15:12 (NKJV)</i><br />
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<i>'Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." - Philippians 2:4 (NKJV)</i><br />
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<i>'Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.' - Galatians 6:2 (NKJV)</i><br />
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It seems very clear.<br />
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Those three verses pretty much sum it up for me. We cannot selfishly live in our own space all of the time, we <i>are </i>called to hold space for others, especially if they are struggling. How do we do this, I wondered, when at times our own burdens weigh heavy.<br />
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If we are to do this successfully, our intentions have to be real and what we offer in the attempt to help, has to come from hearts that have fully surrendered to God's will.<br />
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I remembered the words of <i>1 Chronicles 28:9 (NKJV): '... for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you..."</i><br />
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It became clear to me that if we are to walk alongside others in an authentic way, the work has to start within ourselves first. Finding one's core, surrendering and bringing it in line with the teachings above, seems to be a good place to start.<br />
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Understanding the will of God involves studying the Word, developing a dialogue with the Lord in the form of prayer and constant reflection on what we discover on this journey. These are the tools I believe the Lord has provided so that we won't be lost in a world that can be indescribably difficult to navigate at times.<br />
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It is important to test things we are confronted with, especially when reaching out to others. Asking ourselves whose nature is reflected in a behaviour or an issue, is wise. Is it good, is it pure, or is it just the opposite. It stands to reason that if one truly studies the Word of God, recognizing the nature of our Heavenly Father will become second nature.<br />
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Remember that what you choose to hold on to, is what you will pass on. Sharing space thus comes with a huge responsibility. The heavier our own burdens are, the more difficult it will be to encourage those we hope to support. Letting go of our burdens is something that we have to work hard at if we are to walk alongside others in an encouraging capacity.<br />
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Again I turned to the Scriptures and the words that the Lord spoke in Luke 4:18 reassured me.<br />
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<i>'He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, </i><br />
<i>To proclaim liberty to the captives...' (NKJV)</i></div>
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Confirmation that burdens don't have the authority to keep us captive! Can I encourage you to believe and hold on to this?<br />
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Today I encountered a group of supermarket employees in a mall, protesting against the spate of violence that has erupted in our country against women and children. If you live in South Africa, you will know all about the rapes, murders and other horrors that countless women and children are subjected to on a daily basis. It is beyond horrific and totally out of control. People have been protesting all over the country. I asked if I could take a photograph of the group in the mall and they immediately agreed and invited me to join them. So, just like that and totally unplanned, I found myself surrounded by strangers, holding a placard, pleading for a safer world to live in.<br />
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On the day I decided to write about holding space for others. How appropriate.</div>
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Once again I am reminded that if we step into a life of surrendering to God's will for us, these things will happen all the time. Confirmation after confirmation. </div>
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Holding hands with someone while we navigate this world together. Filling our backpacks with discernment and being available and willing to carry the load for someone else when coping becomes hard for them. <br />
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That feels right to me.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869424399959152929.post-22559636639704974012019-08-28T08:06:00.001-07:002019-08-28T23:32:19.204-07:00Standing through the storm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today, as I walked along the beach, breathing in cool salt air, I was reminded of the little bee I found on that same beach not so long ago. I remember being on auto pilot at the time, my body operating automatically, one foot moving in front of the other whilst my mind was a million miles away.<br />
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The chances of me spotting a single struggling bee on the wide expanse of sand in front of me was really remote, and realizing that fact now, as I reflect on it, makes the significance of the encounter stand out even more.<br />
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I saw her struggling to move, a little black dot that did not belong on the white canvas that stretched below and beyond her. She was in obvious distress, seemingly unable to fly, as if something was weighing her down. I was immediately drawn to her and picked her up. In her distress she did not even attempt to sting me. I had no idea what to do to help but taking her away from the water, which clearly wasn't were she was supposed to be, seemed to me the only action I could take to help her survive.<br />
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So I found a flowering bush on the shore and placed her there. All I could hope for was that the nectar that the flowers would provide, would strengthen her and that being in an environment that was kind and familiar to her, would help her heal.<br />
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I will never know what happened to that little bee after I walked away but somehow, our encounter has remained in the back of my mind and I've often wondered what I was meant to take from it.<br />
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As I have learnt to listen and be alert to the way the Lord speaks to me, I have developed the habit of keeping notes or taking photos whenever I sense something is important. Today I am so glad I took photos of her on that beach, as I sense the following might be what I am supposed to learn from our encounter.<br />
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I decided to take a closer look at what my camera captured that morning. Zooming in on her little body, I discovered what looked like salt crystals on her back and legs. I do not remember seeing that with the naked eye but on the photos, it is unmistakable. Can it be that she was weighed down by the salt crystals, being in the wrong place with salt filled sea spray landing on her, she was incapacitated to such an extent that she could not take off again?<br />
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That brought me to the theme of salt. I sensed that I might have discovered the puzzle pieces of a story coming together and I decided to explore this avenue.<br />
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Salt has so many connotations. The saying goes that lasting relationships involve eating a few bags of salt together, some people are referred to as the salt of the earth, we are meant to take certain things with a pinch of salt. I found myself wondering what the Bible says about salt?<br />
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As I dug deeper, I discovered that salt is used many times, both in the Old and New Testaments, and just as diversely as the above examples. I discovered that many of the metaphors we use on a daily basis actually have Biblical roots, Matthew 5:13 e.g. says: "You are the salt of the earth...".<br />
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Lot's wife was turned into a salt pillar after she disobeyed the orders given to her, sacrifices of old were to be seasoned with salt, fruitful lands were turned into a salty waste - there are many more examples.<br />
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How then, was I to understand and apply this obvious reference to salt after my encounter on the beach?<br />
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I continued my quest by directing my thoughts to events that happened in my life recently. Was there a connection to be made? And if I found such a connection, what could I measure it by so that I would have some certainty that I was hearing what I am supposed to hear?<br />
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As I pondered the salt connection, the sounds of Lauren Daigle's beautiful voice filled my mind:<br />
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<i>'For you are salt and light</i><br />
<i>You are love's great height</i><br />
<i>You are deep and wide</i><br />
<i>A consuming fire'</i><br />
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She sings this with such conviction, the words cannot but remain with you!<br />
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Salt flavours, salt preserves. The Lord says we are to be the salt of the earth and we should not loose our flavour, salt without flavour is useless.<br />
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Could it be that the little bee I found was a reminder of a very specific message. A message so profound that it follows the beatitudes written in Matthew 5, furthermore instructing those who choose to seek the blessings described in the famous Sermon on the Mount. You <i>are</i> the salt, you <i>are</i> the light of the world - a world where darkness seeks to infiltrate every corner.<br />
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Can it be that if we ever find ourselves standing face to face with darkness and salt that has lost it's flavour - that we are to hold on to the instructions above. Are we to cling to the words of the Beatitudes: 'Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, Blessed are the meek, Blessed are poor in spirit'. Blessed are you who seek these blessings and choose to be salt and light.<br />
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Stand on the instructions, believe the promises.<br />
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This past week a dear friend and her family came face to face with a darkness that we all pray will not touch our families. A darkness that was out to steal and destroy. A darkness that knew little mercy. A darkness that had lost its salty taste a long time ago. For those of us living in South Africa, it is a darkness that seems to lurk around every corner, striking home after home, friend after friend.<br />
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My own children have been visited in their home by that very same darkness. Men wielding knives, intruding, destroying, creating havoc in the lives and homes of the families they attack.<br />
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I witnessed my friend standing tall, exuding light and carrying her salt in the midst of the storm that engulfed them, just as that little bee did. She stood strong and called on the Lord in their time of need, refusing to allow the enemy to rob or steal what is truly important. Earthly things might have been taken and physical hurt inflicted, but things can be replaced and bodies can heal.<br />
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To hear her proclaim her faith and call on the Lord at a time when many would be defeated, was humbling. It has had a profound impact on me. I am grateful with her for grace and mercy that is fresh every day. I am grateful for friends in my life who are salt of the earth people. I am grateful that we don't fight this fight alone. I am grateful that my friend and her family can celebrate being alive, knowing that physical wounds will heal and bad memories will fade.<br />
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I can't help thinking back to our recent visit to Israel. And specifically to the day that we discovered for ourselves that whilst floating in the Dead Sea, try as you may, you will not sink. A body of water, filled with salt. You can stay afloat, but you <i>will not</i> sink. There has to be a lesson there.<br />
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I am grateful for a little bee, who bravely carried her very important message. I think I got it.<br />
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<i>"For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavour, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."</i></div>
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<i>- Mark 9:49 NKJV</i></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869424399959152929.post-56739010170373570162019-08-21T10:43:00.000-07:002019-08-21T13:26:34.220-07:00A language of confirmation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">I’ve always felt strangely uncomfortable when someone states, with bold presumption, that the Lord told them to do something, to go somewhere or to believe or not to believe something. My discomfort lies not with the fact that someone feels that the Lord has guided them somehow, but to say that the Lord ‘told me’ or ‘the Lord said’, implies that He communicated almost audibly, in no uncertain terms - the same way as we would to each other. It does not factor in that we are human, flawed and fallible and perhaps what we thought we heard, came from ourselves and not from God.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">We know that the Lord spoke to a fortunate few who lived in Biblical times. Moses heard the voice of God coming from within a burning bush, Saul heard Him through a light on the road to Damascus. There are so many more examples.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">I love the story of how God spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun. After Moses died, the Lord instructed him in no uncertain terms regarding the future of the Israelites. The Lord tells Joshua: ‘Be strong and of good courage…’ How beautiful, how powerful! </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">I want to say that to my loved ones at the start of every new day - be strong, be courageous! Something a father or a mother would say to their children - with all else said to him regarding the tasks ahead, these words of encouragement, spoken by the Lord, must have been so comforting to Joshua.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">I would be lying if I denied being envious of those who might have heard His voice, whether audibly as we would define it, or through nature (thunder, lightning, signs, wonders) for example. I can’t think of an adjective remotely fitting with which to describe how special that must have been. Humbling, incredible, mind-blowing - none of these come close! </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">So how then, does the Lord speak to His people in the year 2019? I feel more comfortable saying that I <i>sense</i> the Lord is guiding me in a certain way rather than saying: ‘The Lord TOLD me’. Experiencing an inner conviction or identifying a message that one cannot ignore as it is repeated in your life again and again - that feels more real to me.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">Awareness, confirmation, clarity, wisdom. This is the language I sense we are being taught.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">I’d like to propose that this language can only be heard and understood if you truly have a prayerful desire to speak it. Step one would be to become open to it, in other words, become aware of what the ‘words’ could possibly look or sound like. I believe that each one of us hears the Lord in a unique way.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">Once awareness has been raised, one can expect confirmation to come in various forms. Words or messages that are repeated often, sometimes daily or weekly, even yearly, form stories - become roadmaps. But beware, God’s timeline does not always correspond with ours and I’ve come to realise that His messages are often delivered in various chapters - teaching us patience and discernment as we wait.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">The prize is actually grasping what is being communicated to you and that moment of clarity, when you GET it, brings with it the greatest gift - that of wisdom.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">Can it be that we don’t hear an audible voice guiding us to wisdom anymore, as everything we need to know has already been said? <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Wisdom has been penned in the pages between Genesis 1 and Revelation 22. We can choose to seek it there and confirmation, nudging, guidance will follow. Just as a good shepherd leads and guides his flock, heavenly shepherding is available to us, we can choose to follow or not.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">We are known to Him who created us. He knows our thoughts before we think it. So who knows better which individual language each of us will respond to? </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">So today, if you feel that He is silent and doesn’t speak to you, I challenge you to focus on the unique language He might be using to talk to you. You’ll <i>sense</i> it, and then you’ll hear it. I can attest to that.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">Some time ago I attended a workshop presented by a church family in Knysna. The theme was exactly this - being still in the Lord’s presence and hearing Him speak. The course stretched over a few weeks and was well attended. During one of the sessions we were asked to put our hands in a box and to take one of the small papers it contained. The paper was blank, with only a number written at the bottom. We had no idea what this meant.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">We were told that there would be quiet time for us to simply meditate on whatever we felt the Lord was leading us to. When we felt ready, we were to write what we felt we were hearing on this piece of paper, without sharing it with anyone. We could write a word, a verse, a sentiment - whatever we felt was put on our hearts. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">I was new in town and did not know anyone in the group. I quietly immersed myself in the exercise and wrote down what I felt <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- I simply wrote the words ‘My love is forever’, as this is what I strongly sensed the Lord was confirming to me. I felt so at peace in that little church and just incredibly aware of the fact that I am loved by Him. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">Once we had written down our thoughts, we were told that there was someone else in the room with the exact same number as our own, on their paper. We had to find our ‘partners’ and show each other what we had written. My number was 23. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">I started looking for my partner and after a while we found each other. He was a shy young man and it seemed as if he didn’t know too many people there either. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">A total stranger, someone I did not know and to whom I had never spoken before. All I knew about him was that he clearly also wanted to grow his relationship with the Lord as we were both attending a course that had that as it’s main purpose and that he had also taken a blank paper out of the box with the number 23 written on it.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">He had written three words on his paper. I love you. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">I love you and my love is forever. A perfect match. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">THAT is a language I understand! We were astounded, bowled over, ecstatic. And we were not alone. I wish I had taken more photographs that evening, as couple after couple shared the same experience - messages that served as confirmation that we serve a Father who is always present, a Father who speaks loudly and clearly.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">I can’t remember his name, but I will never forget the moment we shared when together, we read what we had written on those two pieces of paper. I somehow don’t think he will either.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17pt;">So today, find your language. The one you understand. It probably will be different from mine, but it will be precious and once you start speaking it, you won’t ever want to stop learning more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><i>‘I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will council you with my loving eye on you.’ - </i></span><i><span class="s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Psalm 32:8 (NIV)</span></i></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869424399959152929.post-48092153341202306412019-08-14T13:03:00.000-07:002019-08-14T23:07:17.366-07:00Kindness can make the world go round<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFI-5UJCwKowcOgxuuZiq-INA9gCFv61HBQoznViLWObtAgEBN5qhfLu7DsSZxZNn8B2dsSTMwkQbEb3pdTcAgYaMXFCdzl15CRGFTnhyphenhyphenlW3cebas0Wd-j4U_srTUaVHZydKw1bp5Tz8/s1600/IMG_3262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFI-5UJCwKowcOgxuuZiq-INA9gCFv61HBQoznViLWObtAgEBN5qhfLu7DsSZxZNn8B2dsSTMwkQbEb3pdTcAgYaMXFCdzl15CRGFTnhyphenhyphenlW3cebas0Wd-j4U_srTUaVHZydKw1bp5Tz8/s320/IMG_3262.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Every mother I know has her own arsenal of wisdom that she imparts to her children. Words of encouragement, words that are meant to sooth, words that direct and guide. The underlying sentiment of these arsenals is always one of positivity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have always told my children that you can only ever have one thought in your mind. If negativity fights to invade my mind, I actively work on replacing it with something positive. I have found that this strategy has had a profound impact on how I navigate my way through life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What a tremendous gift it is to discover time and again, that every bit of wisdom that we need to understand our own bigger picture, is to be found within the pages of the Bible. The only thing required </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">from us is to make the time to search, understand, embrace and implement it.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> the rewards of reviving this blog, for me personally, is that I am actually making time to think about topics that are important to me. Then I go on to research it somewhat and lastly, I have to make time to write something comprehensive about it. I make sure that I always return to the the Bible to see what is written there about the topic and ultimately I am able to enrich and strengthen my arsenal of wisdom.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Take the concept of kindness. I recently woke up in the early hours of the morning. I realized that I was not going to fall asleep again soon and decided to raise my awareness so that I did not miss what I was supposed to hear. This is something that I started doing since I walked the Camino in Spain for the first time. I find that in those quiet hours of the night, when there are no distractions, I am able to be really close to God and being open to His Word comes naturally. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A single word eventually filled my mind, arriving like a little feather floating on a breeze. It soon became all consuming and after pondering on it for a while, I knew that I'd have to give it life somehow. The word was simply 'kindness'.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So to the Bible I went. The words that I fell in love with are to be found in 2 Peter 1:5-7.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #454545;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: inherit;"><i>" ...add to your faith <span style="font-family: inherit;">virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness love."</span></i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Such a basic </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">characteristic - we're all born with the capacity to be kind, until the world we live in robs us of it. Some never seem to find it again and some of us, well, we don't lose the capacity altogether but we seem to struggle to express it at times. I speak for myself when I say this, but I'm sure most people will relate. So this week, I am going to be making a concerted effort to be kind. Kinder than I instinctively want to be whilst I am filled with so much anger about the horrors taking place around me. </span></span><br />
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</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our country is bleeding and our people are literally being slaughtered around us. Women and children are </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69);"><span style="font-family: inherit;">defenceless and farmers are being brutally robbed of their lives as if they never mattered. How then, are we to remain kind? Again, I go bac</span>k to the Bible, as I so desperately need to know HOW? </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: inherit;">And this is what I found - Nehemiah 9:17 says:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: inherit;"><i>" They refused to obey, and they were not mindful of Your wonders that You did amongst them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them."</i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69);">This verse refers to the core of a loving, kind Father who is prepared to forgive those who are actually repentant. I also know that God, and God alone will judge. But where does that leave us? Normal, decent people who are also sinful but desperately want to live good lives. And what about those who have lost loved ones because of the horrors perpetrated by the monsters who live amongst us?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: inherit;">This I know for sure. I don't understand evil. But I do understand good. I understand the promises and commandments I read about in the Bible. I know that God is good and that evil comes from another source. I also know that because we have been given free will to make our own choices in life, bad things are bound to happen. Not everyone chooses good.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69);">The fact that good people suffer because of the bad choices made by others, breaks my heart. I do know however that for those who choose to believe, there is an everlasting chapter to come that is completely free of evil and the reward for a faith based life is exactly that. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69);">The following truly resonates with me. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-family: inherit;">"Kindness is not something that demands hard work. It originates from the simple act of doing no harm to others." - Tony Fahkry</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69);">A few months ago I took my ten-year old grandson to walk the Camino in Portugal and Spain. Somewhere along a forest path, we discovered a colony of stray dogs. We are both animal lovers and when we noticed a number of young pups huddling together while the adults were eating food from a bowl, we could not walk on without making sure they also got their share.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: inherit;">The adults kept the puppies at bay by growling angrily every few seconds. The little ones were clearly very hungry and we decided to chase the older ones away from the bowl so that the little ones could feed as well. We did this <span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69);">successfully and my grandson insisted on sitting with them until they finished eating, we knew that the minute we left the older ones would take over again.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: inherit;">I recall this incident because it epitomizes kindness in my book. Firstly, I honour the anonymous stranger who placed a bowl of food (and probably does this on a regular basis) in the middle of nowhere so that stray dogs would have something to eat. And secondly, my heart swells when I remember the incredible kindness shown by a little boy who chose to sit there in silence guarding those little pups until the last one had his fill. THAT gives me hope. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are born with kindness embedded in our DNA. Let's nurture it within ourselves and encourage <span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69);">others to do the same. They say love makes the world go round, I'd like to believe that kindness can do the same!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: inherit;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69);">"Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will </i><i>find</i><i style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69);"> life, </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69);"><i>righteousness and honour.'</i></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869424399959152929.post-85933640969636457132012-02-14T22:05:00.000-08:002019-08-05T11:40:01.872-07:00A Special Smile<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was drawn to this woman from the minute I saw her. She sat quietly in her little corner but her smile had a magnetic force that was irresistible. We were in Funchal, Madeira and she was taking part in one of the many Christmas events that they had all over town. I started chatting to her in my broken Portuguese and even though our exchange was basic, the warmth that emanated from her was tangible.</div>
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The thing that stayed with me most was the expression in her eyes. She truly smiled through those eyes. When she heard I was from Africa she handed me a handful of goats hair as a gift - little did she know that the real gift she gave me was so much more precious!</div>
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This morning, as I prayed about the Lord laying a message on my heart, I was led back to this picture and the following piece in the Bible:</div>
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<em>'No-one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on a stand, so that those who come may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad; your body also is full of darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.' </em>Luke 11:33-36</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869424399959152929.post-5052865674612439052012-02-04T03:18:00.000-08:002019-08-05T11:23:57.277-07:00Choosing life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Life is all about choices. Every single issue that you'll ever be presented with will also afford you the option of choosing different responses. Yes or no, up or down, stay or go, do something or let it be. Some options have pretty predictable endings, but some could go either way. </div>
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You point your car at the edge of a cliff and accelerate, well.... no prize if you can guess how that's going to end. You eat a Big Mac a day for two months - guaranteed you'll have to go clothes shopping at some stage. </div>
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Certain risks are worth taking but there are some that simply aren't worth even considering. </div>
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It is a given fact that we are on this earth for only a short while. I can choose how I would like to live my own personal life while I'm here - I definitely can't complain about the range of choices available to me. I can throw all caution to the wind and do <em>exactly</em> what I please, the sky is the limit.</div>
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So why then, with all the thousands of options available to me, would I choose to base my life on the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ?</div>
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This would be my answer...</div>
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Since I have placed the Lord in the centre of my life, a gentle but very real peace has fallen over me. I have felt the amazing warmth of His love touch my heart and I know that every promise He makes in the Bible is real because He answers my prayers, one after the other. I will not risk a life without the Lord in it because that, <em>without a doubt</em>, will be the biggest risk I can ever take!</div>
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So I choose to live a life believing that God exists. <em>Knowing</em> that God exists.</div>
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I don't mind taking risks now and then, but my life is simply too important. I refuse to risk it by not giving it one hundred percent to the Lord.</div>
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I choose to enter through that narrow gate I read about in Matthew 7: 13-14. I choose to walk on the road that is mapped out for me in the scriptures provided. It very clearly states that it will be bumpy on occasion, but it also promises a destination that is beyond all destinations.</div>
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Welcome to this blog. Nothing that is ever posted here will have been written without it having been prayed about. My wish is that these words will bless those who happen to read it and that it will be read at exactly the time when it needs to be heard most. </div>
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'<i>Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.' ~ Isaiah 30:21</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3