We all have one. A time munching monster. Something we like to do when we actually should be doing something else. My monster's name is computer games. What's the name of yours?
You have one. We all do. We just don't like admitting it. We like to think of ourselves as excellent time managers. Hogwash.
Yesterday discussion was about quality time with God in a quiet place without noise that distracts you. For that you need time. Time that we probably want to spend on something else. For some reason, there is always something else that appeals to us more than spending time with God. It's a constant tug-of-war between the spirit and the flesh. The spirit is willing but the flesh is oh so weak. Just one more game. Just one more episode. Just one more chapter. And before we know it, the time munching monster has eaten all our time and there is none left for a quiet time with God.
The saddest part is that God is none the poorer. We are.
The worst part is that the monster has become an idol. We give more to him than to God. We love him more than we love God. We would rather spend time with him than with God.
What is the name of your monster? Join me. I have decided to kill my monster.
Thursday 31 March 2011
Wednesday 30 March 2011
Be still...
I am alone at home. I am sitting peacefully in my bedroom next to an open window. I marvel at the silence.
Silence has become scarce. Think about it - when last did you hear nothing other than nature? I can hear the wind softly moving in the tree outside my window. Every now and then I hear the rustle of the dried leaves under the tree. The occasional bird call is beautiful.
We are all desperate for silence. But we don't find it. We move from one noisy place to another.
Silence is therapeutic. But we have become strangers to silence and started to fear it. We feel uncomfortable in silence. We always have to have something on - the TV, the radio, the cd player - anything! Even in our cars, it's music the moment we start the engine. Anything but silence.
And yet, silence is where you can best hear God's voice. Simply because you are not focussed on moving pictures across a TV screen or music or some other noise. Silence has a way of emptying your brain. At first you have various unrelated thoughts that you have to sift through. Then eventually, you head quiets down as well. It's then, that quality time with God becomes possible. In the stillness you will hear Him. In the soft breeze, you will feel Him. No wonder He says in the Psalms: "Be still and know that I am God".
Be still.
Do you have time? Are you willing to fight the urge for noise?
Come on... try... be still...
Silence has become scarce. Think about it - when last did you hear nothing other than nature? I can hear the wind softly moving in the tree outside my window. Every now and then I hear the rustle of the dried leaves under the tree. The occasional bird call is beautiful.
We are all desperate for silence. But we don't find it. We move from one noisy place to another.
Silence is therapeutic. But we have become strangers to silence and started to fear it. We feel uncomfortable in silence. We always have to have something on - the TV, the radio, the cd player - anything! Even in our cars, it's music the moment we start the engine. Anything but silence.
And yet, silence is where you can best hear God's voice. Simply because you are not focussed on moving pictures across a TV screen or music or some other noise. Silence has a way of emptying your brain. At first you have various unrelated thoughts that you have to sift through. Then eventually, you head quiets down as well. It's then, that quality time with God becomes possible. In the stillness you will hear Him. In the soft breeze, you will feel Him. No wonder He says in the Psalms: "Be still and know that I am God".
Be still.
Do you have time? Are you willing to fight the urge for noise?
Come on... try... be still...
Monday 28 March 2011
Kitchen Bugs
We first noticed them in the rice. Not just the ordinary rice either. They were in the Basmati rice!
Why did they choose the expensive food for their infestation? I wonder if they first look around a pantry and then have a vote to decide where they will go? Where did they come from anyway?
Soon we noticed more colonies around the pantry. In the oats. In the flour. Until I got fed-up with these little critters in the pantry. The were not welcome in my house. So every thing in the pantry got unpacked and inspected. I found how they came in! In a packet of dried soup mix that was so badly infested, you could hear the bugs moving inside the bag if you kept quiet. That packet was bought not so long ago, which made me angry. I paid for these bugs! It's unfair!
And so is life. We expose ourselves to innocent looking things that could not possibly pose any threat. Or could it? I mean, the packet of soup mix is so innocent! It's just soup mix! Everybody buys it!
Did that last sentence sound familiar? Everybody buys it! Everybody does it! Everybody goes there!
And so we try to justify something we know we shouldn't be involved in. We think we can take a quick look and go away untouched, unchanged. We think we can pay a quick visit and go home, unscathed. We never think about the bugs we pick up along the way. Bugs that will now start an infestation in the pantry. Bugs that will infiltrate our life.
Think about it this way. If you pick up some dog pooh and immediately put it down again, you will have the smell on your hands. Even if you didn't really do anything. You just picked it up and put it down. No harm done. Really? Smell your fingers...
Don't think you can dabble in sin and stay untouched. Be careful what you expose yourself to. You might just start an infestation.
Why did they choose the expensive food for their infestation? I wonder if they first look around a pantry and then have a vote to decide where they will go? Where did they come from anyway?
Soon we noticed more colonies around the pantry. In the oats. In the flour. Until I got fed-up with these little critters in the pantry. The were not welcome in my house. So every thing in the pantry got unpacked and inspected. I found how they came in! In a packet of dried soup mix that was so badly infested, you could hear the bugs moving inside the bag if you kept quiet. That packet was bought not so long ago, which made me angry. I paid for these bugs! It's unfair!
And so is life. We expose ourselves to innocent looking things that could not possibly pose any threat. Or could it? I mean, the packet of soup mix is so innocent! It's just soup mix! Everybody buys it!
Did that last sentence sound familiar? Everybody buys it! Everybody does it! Everybody goes there!
And so we try to justify something we know we shouldn't be involved in. We think we can take a quick look and go away untouched, unchanged. We think we can pay a quick visit and go home, unscathed. We never think about the bugs we pick up along the way. Bugs that will now start an infestation in the pantry. Bugs that will infiltrate our life.
Think about it this way. If you pick up some dog pooh and immediately put it down again, you will have the smell on your hands. Even if you didn't really do anything. You just picked it up and put it down. No harm done. Really? Smell your fingers...
Don't think you can dabble in sin and stay untouched. Be careful what you expose yourself to. You might just start an infestation.
Thursday 24 March 2011
The Wedding
Have you ever arranged a wedding or been involved with wedding arrangements? Your own maybe. Maybe your sister. Maybe a friend. It doesn't matter whose wedding it was, I am sure you can remember the frantic planning.
Many a dress will be tried on and only one will be good enough. It has to be just right. It has to fit perfectly. Some dresses are embroidered and sequenced by hand - a job that takes weeks of dedication. Wedding dresses are frequently adjusted a few times before the big day. Weight is a terrible thing. It can fluctuate in such a stressful period!
The shoes, oh the shoes. They must look like the shoes of a princess but fit as comfortably as slippers. Pretty enough to walk down the isle, nice enough to dance in. High heels or low heels? Choices, choices.
The hair has to be planned. There must be a trial run. After all, who wants to end up with a bad hair day on the day of the wedding? The hairdresser must have nerves of steel. There are few people as difficult as a bride to be. Small flowers or a tiara? Difficult decision. Poor hairdresser. Just when the hairdo is figured out, the veil is remembered and everything starts again.
Don't forget the make-up. Make-up has evolved into a full time business for people who have the patience to deal with one bride after the other. Is it patience or is a masochistic disorder? I don't know - I can't decide. One bride wants as natural as possible, the next one wants to look like the millennium diva. Flaws have to be covered and cheek bones must be enhanced.
The outfits of all the other people involved are planned too. Mother should wear this. Father must please not wear that. Sister must have her hair like this. Brides. Difficult. Persistent. Demanding.
But on the big day, the bride is always the most beautiful. And so it should be.
Why am I rambling on about brides and weddings today? I had a chat with a very good friend yesterday. He told me about his daughter's wedding that is coming up. And the conversation turned to the bride of Christ. We plan so much and spend so much on a earthly wedding, but what are we, as the bride of Christ, doing for our spiritual wedding that is fast coming up?
Are we as concerned about our wedding dress as the young bride due to walk down the isle in April? I think not. Our dress is dirty with sin. Tattered because of carelessness. Our hair is still a mess - we haven't even thought about it. We are still bare-feet - no shoes yet.
We need to wake up and prepare for eternity. It's not good enough to go to church. It's not good enough to live exemplary lives. It's not good enough to give tithes and offerings. It's not good enough to pray now and then. Listen to this scripture:
Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Has this scripture puzzled you? How could Jesus say He never 'knew' them? This word in the original Greek speaks of intimacy. With other words: "You went to church, you paid your tithes, you sang when the worship team sang, you did all the right things, you even prophesied, but you were never intimate with me".
Are you intimate with your Lord and Savior? When last have you been? When last did you really spend quality time with God? When last did you really take the time to wait on Him and hear His voice? When last?
Are you ready to meet your Bridegroom? He is coming soon!
Many a dress will be tried on and only one will be good enough. It has to be just right. It has to fit perfectly. Some dresses are embroidered and sequenced by hand - a job that takes weeks of dedication. Wedding dresses are frequently adjusted a few times before the big day. Weight is a terrible thing. It can fluctuate in such a stressful period!
The shoes, oh the shoes. They must look like the shoes of a princess but fit as comfortably as slippers. Pretty enough to walk down the isle, nice enough to dance in. High heels or low heels? Choices, choices.
The hair has to be planned. There must be a trial run. After all, who wants to end up with a bad hair day on the day of the wedding? The hairdresser must have nerves of steel. There are few people as difficult as a bride to be. Small flowers or a tiara? Difficult decision. Poor hairdresser. Just when the hairdo is figured out, the veil is remembered and everything starts again.
Don't forget the make-up. Make-up has evolved into a full time business for people who have the patience to deal with one bride after the other. Is it patience or is a masochistic disorder? I don't know - I can't decide. One bride wants as natural as possible, the next one wants to look like the millennium diva. Flaws have to be covered and cheek bones must be enhanced.
The outfits of all the other people involved are planned too. Mother should wear this. Father must please not wear that. Sister must have her hair like this. Brides. Difficult. Persistent. Demanding.
But on the big day, the bride is always the most beautiful. And so it should be.
Why am I rambling on about brides and weddings today? I had a chat with a very good friend yesterday. He told me about his daughter's wedding that is coming up. And the conversation turned to the bride of Christ. We plan so much and spend so much on a earthly wedding, but what are we, as the bride of Christ, doing for our spiritual wedding that is fast coming up?
Are we as concerned about our wedding dress as the young bride due to walk down the isle in April? I think not. Our dress is dirty with sin. Tattered because of carelessness. Our hair is still a mess - we haven't even thought about it. We are still bare-feet - no shoes yet.
We need to wake up and prepare for eternity. It's not good enough to go to church. It's not good enough to live exemplary lives. It's not good enough to give tithes and offerings. It's not good enough to pray now and then. Listen to this scripture:
Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Has this scripture puzzled you? How could Jesus say He never 'knew' them? This word in the original Greek speaks of intimacy. With other words: "You went to church, you paid your tithes, you sang when the worship team sang, you did all the right things, you even prophesied, but you were never intimate with me".
Are you intimate with your Lord and Savior? When last have you been? When last did you really spend quality time with God? When last did you really take the time to wait on Him and hear His voice? When last?
Are you ready to meet your Bridegroom? He is coming soon!
Wednesday 23 March 2011
The sirens of life
The fence siren went off at 04h47 this morning. Picture this. I flew out of bed but got tangled in the sheets with the mongoose somewhere in between. Eventually I just fell out of bed. I jumped up, grabbed my glasses and my revolver and ran for the door to the garage. I couldn't get out of the house into the garage. I didn't have my keys. I left them in the car yesterday. Wonderful security system I know. I ran for my daughter's room, flung her door open and yelled for her front door keys. The poor child jumped out of bed, nearly ran into her dressing table, turned for her desk, frantically looking for her handbag that was right in front of her. Eventually I got the keys. I shot out the front door and into the open garage from the outside (my husband already left for work). Reset the siren, got my house keys and returned to the house.
Great I thought. There goes my last hour of sleep. Correct. The siren started again. And again. And again. And again. Darn guinea fowl. Yet I couldn't just assume it was them again - it could be real danger this time, so eventually I phoned the security company to come out and check the outer fence.
I decided to make myself coffee. And then God spoke.
How often do we ignore the sirens in life? We know when we shouldn't get involved with a person. We know when we shouldn't go into the business deal. Our bodies frequently siren us to stop with our unhealthy lifestyle, but do we listen? Oh no. We just ignore the siren and carry on.
Eventually, trouble comes and then we wonder why life is so unfair.
Read this scripture:
Proverbs 19:3: People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does God always get blamed?
How true. We smoke and then think God is horribly unfair when we end up with lung disease (I stopped by the way). We get involved with unbelievers and blame God when they just don't want to serve God with us and treat us badly. We enter shady business deals and cry bitterly when we end up with nothing, no money, no house, no car, just nothing. Frequently we feel terrible for not going to church, but we just ignore it and enjoy yet another lazy Sunday. Until trouble comes, THEN we want to start praying.
Take a few moments and think which sirens you have ignored in the last few days. Think of the consequences if you carry on like this.
Isn't it time to surrender? Isn't it time to let go of your stupidity?
Great I thought. There goes my last hour of sleep. Correct. The siren started again. And again. And again. And again. Darn guinea fowl. Yet I couldn't just assume it was them again - it could be real danger this time, so eventually I phoned the security company to come out and check the outer fence.
I decided to make myself coffee. And then God spoke.
How often do we ignore the sirens in life? We know when we shouldn't get involved with a person. We know when we shouldn't go into the business deal. Our bodies frequently siren us to stop with our unhealthy lifestyle, but do we listen? Oh no. We just ignore the siren and carry on.
Eventually, trouble comes and then we wonder why life is so unfair.
Read this scripture:
Proverbs 19:3: People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does God always get blamed?
How true. We smoke and then think God is horribly unfair when we end up with lung disease (I stopped by the way). We get involved with unbelievers and blame God when they just don't want to serve God with us and treat us badly. We enter shady business deals and cry bitterly when we end up with nothing, no money, no house, no car, just nothing. Frequently we feel terrible for not going to church, but we just ignore it and enjoy yet another lazy Sunday. Until trouble comes, THEN we want to start praying.
Take a few moments and think which sirens you have ignored in the last few days. Think of the consequences if you carry on like this.
Isn't it time to surrender? Isn't it time to let go of your stupidity?
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Sylvia Davids
2004. She was sitting on the steps to the Home Affairs office in Bellville. Drunk. Begging for food. She grabbed at him as he passed her but he ignored her and went to the counter. Suddenly, he felt guilty without knowing why. He walked back to find her still on the stairs – begging for something. He took her aside and sat with her on the step. She had one wooden leg and one blind eye. She wasn’t young either. He looked at her and asked “why”?
He was an experienced street worker, used to sharing the gospel with prostitutes and street kids who only knew the hard side of life. He gave her much more than money that day – he gave her the gift of life as he shared the gospel with her. He gave something of eternal value...
She asked for his phone number and he gave her his business card, not believing that he would ever hear from her again. Great was his surprise when she phoned him that same evening. To tell him that she used the money to pay for electricity, that she bought food for her family and that she was sober. She promised to remain sober. And she did – for 7 years.
Since that day, she phoned him daily, without exception. Daily she reported that she was still spiritually standing. Daily she checked up on him to make sure he was still spiritually standing. Often the learner reprimanded the teacher; when he confessed sickness, she corrected him and said that Christians never confess sickness.
The call came every evening, up until Thursday, the 17th of March 2011. She phoned that night for the last time.
She passed away in her sleep, without an illness known of. How wonderful to go like that.
Our hearts ache, but at the same time, we rejoice for one who finished the race.
I wonder what she said when she entered heaven and saw Jesus. In my mind I hear her voice and her bellowing laugh: “Djeere maar djy is soe mooi!”
Friday 18 March 2011
A sigh of relief... or just a sigh...
It's weekend. Finally. And what a weekend this is going to be!
Tomorrow morning, I can sleep late. That is now if Strepies, my mongoose, approves. If he doesn't, he will nibble me until I wake up. Only because he is awake. So selfish. If that doesn't work, he'll pee on me. That always works. For now, I will look forward to a lie-in tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow afternoon it's off to Sun City. Andre Rieu is here! Finally. I bought the tickets for the concert tomorrow night a year ago after attending the first concert. I can't wait. Can you image what it sounds like if the whole Superbowl sings Sarie Marais together. You'll cry. Promise. I did. Amazing Grace was the best. I didn't cry. I sobbed. Couldn't help it. I have to tell you about the people that sat behind us last year. Racists. Snotty remarks when Kimi came on stage. Until she sang. Not a dry eye in the audience. Including the lady behind me. From a racist to a proud South African in minutes. "We have such wonderful talent in our country... sniff.... sniff". Miracles still happen!
Tomorrow night, we will see the ex street sweeper who is now a full time singer. You see - I just told you, miracles still happen. Go read the story:
http://www.beeld.com/Vermaak/Nuus/Singend-van-strate-na-die-Superbowl-20110317
Sunday morning we'll attend to our souls and fill our spiritual fuel tanks at church. Sunday night, we turn into the integrity patrol at the teen meeting. We will jump with the children and celebrate life in Christ.
Monday, oh Monday! It's a long weekend! Whoop-Whoop.
What are you planning for monday? Make a comment and tell us.
Do you want to know what I am planning? You won't believe me....
Monday, I will be studying economics. Sigh.
Tomorrow morning, I can sleep late. That is now if Strepies, my mongoose, approves. If he doesn't, he will nibble me until I wake up. Only because he is awake. So selfish. If that doesn't work, he'll pee on me. That always works. For now, I will look forward to a lie-in tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow afternoon it's off to Sun City. Andre Rieu is here! Finally. I bought the tickets for the concert tomorrow night a year ago after attending the first concert. I can't wait. Can you image what it sounds like if the whole Superbowl sings Sarie Marais together. You'll cry. Promise. I did. Amazing Grace was the best. I didn't cry. I sobbed. Couldn't help it. I have to tell you about the people that sat behind us last year. Racists. Snotty remarks when Kimi came on stage. Until she sang. Not a dry eye in the audience. Including the lady behind me. From a racist to a proud South African in minutes. "We have such wonderful talent in our country... sniff.... sniff". Miracles still happen!
Tomorrow night, we will see the ex street sweeper who is now a full time singer. You see - I just told you, miracles still happen. Go read the story:
http://www.beeld.com/Vermaak/Nuus/Singend-van-strate-na-die-Superbowl-20110317
Sunday morning we'll attend to our souls and fill our spiritual fuel tanks at church. Sunday night, we turn into the integrity patrol at the teen meeting. We will jump with the children and celebrate life in Christ.
Monday, oh Monday! It's a long weekend! Whoop-Whoop.
What are you planning for monday? Make a comment and tell us.
Do you want to know what I am planning? You won't believe me....
Monday, I will be studying economics. Sigh.
Thursday 17 March 2011
Co-incidence? I don't think so...
Something is going on. I am sure about it. You see I don't believe in fate or co-incidence. Believing in that means not believing in God being involved in everything.
I have been blogging about THE question for three of four days now.
What in my day to day living has eternal value? I am still stuck on it! There are very few things I can think of to be quite honest.
So yesterday my daughter gets in the car. Excitedly rambling on about all that has happened in her day. Oh and she has to play me a song. It's her new favourite. I have no idea who sings it - I lost track when I heard the chorus.
"We do too many things that don't mean much".
Bucket of ice water in the face. Say what?
I get home just in time to leave for house-church. I am still dumbstruck by how her song confirms my blogging of a few days. At house-church, I get asked to read a piece of scripture. Hold on to your chair:
Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things. Do what you have learned or received or heard from me. Follow my example. The God who gives peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9 (New International Reader's Version)
Philippians 4:8-9 (New International Reader's Version)
In short: follow Paul's example and concentrate on things that has eternal value.
Ouch.
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Meaningless, Meaningless...
I am busy with BCom Informatics. Started this year. I know, at my age such an act can easily be described as lunacy. Some days I even agree with that. Many a time I stand amazed at what I got myself into.
Economy was my biggest challenge. I never had any exposure to it before. I was expecting difficult assignments and long hours of study. Great was my surprise when it all just made logical sense to me. I even encountered an old friend in the textbook. Maslow.
Maslow and his hierarchy of needs and wants. I met him a couple of years back when I started with my diploma in management. According to him, our needs and wants are limitless. As soon as one need or want is met or satisfied, another arises. We are just never satisfied! For example, you NEED a car. You buy a car. You pay it off. You start looking for another, more expensive and smarter car. Not because you really NEED it - just because you WANT it.
We drive ourselves to the limit to satisfy our wants and needs. We work long hours. We neglect our families. We get into debt. We stress about work and the debt we got ourselves into. So we work even harder and longer hours. Just to satisfy our needs and wants.
Is it really worth it? The question was actually answered thousands of years ago already:
Ecclesiates 2:17-26
So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.
A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
We are back again at the question.
What in my life has eternal value?
The question is still haunting me.
Economy was my biggest challenge. I never had any exposure to it before. I was expecting difficult assignments and long hours of study. Great was my surprise when it all just made logical sense to me. I even encountered an old friend in the textbook. Maslow.
Maslow and his hierarchy of needs and wants. I met him a couple of years back when I started with my diploma in management. According to him, our needs and wants are limitless. As soon as one need or want is met or satisfied, another arises. We are just never satisfied! For example, you NEED a car. You buy a car. You pay it off. You start looking for another, more expensive and smarter car. Not because you really NEED it - just because you WANT it.
We drive ourselves to the limit to satisfy our wants and needs. We work long hours. We neglect our families. We get into debt. We stress about work and the debt we got ourselves into. So we work even harder and longer hours. Just to satisfy our needs and wants.
Is it really worth it? The question was actually answered thousands of years ago already:
Ecclesiates 2:17-26
So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.
A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
We are back again at the question.
What in my life has eternal value?
The question is still haunting me.
Tuesday 15 March 2011
You and me can make a difference
I know the correct grammar is "You and I", but the "me" was just so much smoother on the tongue when I wrote the song. Think poetic freedom and forget the grammar.
It was a weekend at church with the focus on missionaries. The aim was to make everybody aware that you should be a missionary just where you are. We all tend to think missionaries are people who offer up their lives to live in some remote village in horrific conditions, all just to spread the word of God. It's not entirely true. All of us were summoned with the command: "Go and make disciples". Which is where the song come in. I was asked to write a song along those lines. It came to me while I was sweating away on a treadmill.
There's darkness all around us
But we have the light inside us
You and me can make a difference
There's people without hope out there
We have something we could share
You and me an make a difference
Come on Christian soldiers, put your armour on
Let's take this place for Jesus, as we're marching on and on
He said He'll give us every place where we will set out feet
So let's all go together and make the enemy retreat
The end of all is drawing near
There's many folks still caught in fear
You and me can make a difference
Let's show the perfect love of God
To a world out there who needs the Lord
You and me can make a difference
Oh Lord hear the prayer we pray as united we stand here today
Open our eyes that we might see everything that we should be
Help us to show Your love oh Lord, to a broken, sinful, dying world
We pledge ourselves anew today, and to each other we will say...
You and me can make a difference
Copyright: Hilda Steyn 2004
Now what made me think of this? The disasters in Japan.
I visited there in 2007 and I work very closely with several Japanese people on a daily basis. Never have I witnessed to them. I sat dumbstruck on Saterday and I knew that if one of them died there, his / her soul would be lost. And I would be to blame.
What in my day to day dealing with people really has eternity value? I asked the question in yesterday's blog. The question still haunts me.
I hope it will haunt you too.
It was a weekend at church with the focus on missionaries. The aim was to make everybody aware that you should be a missionary just where you are. We all tend to think missionaries are people who offer up their lives to live in some remote village in horrific conditions, all just to spread the word of God. It's not entirely true. All of us were summoned with the command: "Go and make disciples". Which is where the song come in. I was asked to write a song along those lines. It came to me while I was sweating away on a treadmill.
There's darkness all around us
But we have the light inside us
You and me can make a difference
There's people without hope out there
We have something we could share
You and me an make a difference
Come on Christian soldiers, put your armour on
Let's take this place for Jesus, as we're marching on and on
He said He'll give us every place where we will set out feet
So let's all go together and make the enemy retreat
The end of all is drawing near
There's many folks still caught in fear
You and me can make a difference
Let's show the perfect love of God
To a world out there who needs the Lord
You and me can make a difference
Oh Lord hear the prayer we pray as united we stand here today
Open our eyes that we might see everything that we should be
Help us to show Your love oh Lord, to a broken, sinful, dying world
We pledge ourselves anew today, and to each other we will say...
You and me can make a difference
Copyright: Hilda Steyn 2004
Now what made me think of this? The disasters in Japan.
I visited there in 2007 and I work very closely with several Japanese people on a daily basis. Never have I witnessed to them. I sat dumbstruck on Saterday and I knew that if one of them died there, his / her soul would be lost. And I would be to blame.
What in my day to day dealing with people really has eternity value? I asked the question in yesterday's blog. The question still haunts me.
I hope it will haunt you too.
Monday 14 March 2011
The Epitaph
Graveyards. I have a thing about graveyards. Odd I know. I grew up in a morgue. My father was the undertaker. Obviously, a corpse doesn't bother me. I used to comb the hair of the ladies just before my father closed the coffins. We even played hide and seek in the morgue and thought nothing of laying on the shelf next to a corpse, holding in a finger in the door of the fridge to prevent it from closing. If you ever wondered, now you now what is wrong with me.
To come back to the graveyards. As a child, I remember my parents driving into a little town and immediately head for the graveyard. We walked among the graves reading the epitaphs and discussing the design of the tombstones. To this day, I still do it. My children freaked out at first, now they join me. Small little family graveyards on a desolated piece of land are my favourite. It fascinates me to see one generation after the other buried in the same graveyard. I wish I had a family graveyard. It just seems right.
The epitaphs always spark my curiosity. Normally they say very little really.
Joe Soap
1960/01/01 - 1990/12/31
Rest in Peace
I always wonder if the family left behind really meant that rest in peace bit. Or was it just too expensive to engrave something like "May your soul wonder the ends of the earth and may you never find rest, you evil thing". You never know hey.
But what will the little line between the two dates on my tomb stone one day represent? What will remain in the hearts of the people about me long after I had gone? Will my children remember me patiently driving mom's taxi, or will they remember me yelling because I am late? Will they remember the meals I cooked with love or will they remember me moping and moaning in the kitchen each night? I can come up with a whole list of similar questions. Point is - what will people remember me for?
What in my day to day dealing with people really has eternity value?
What will another freak with a thing for graveyards, read on my epitaph one day?
To come back to the graveyards. As a child, I remember my parents driving into a little town and immediately head for the graveyard. We walked among the graves reading the epitaphs and discussing the design of the tombstones. To this day, I still do it. My children freaked out at first, now they join me. Small little family graveyards on a desolated piece of land are my favourite. It fascinates me to see one generation after the other buried in the same graveyard. I wish I had a family graveyard. It just seems right.
The epitaphs always spark my curiosity. Normally they say very little really.
Joe Soap
1960/01/01 - 1990/12/31
Rest in Peace
I always wonder if the family left behind really meant that rest in peace bit. Or was it just too expensive to engrave something like "May your soul wonder the ends of the earth and may you never find rest, you evil thing". You never know hey.
But what will the little line between the two dates on my tomb stone one day represent? What will remain in the hearts of the people about me long after I had gone? Will my children remember me patiently driving mom's taxi, or will they remember me yelling because I am late? Will they remember the meals I cooked with love or will they remember me moping and moaning in the kitchen each night? I can come up with a whole list of similar questions. Point is - what will people remember me for?
What in my day to day dealing with people really has eternity value?
What will another freak with a thing for graveyards, read on my epitaph one day?
Saturday 12 March 2011
Till death do us part
Powerful phrase. We include it as part of our wedding vows. We will stay together till death do us part. It's much more powerful than that really. It's what life is all about. Life is just life till death do us part. Our partners are with us till death do us part. Our children are with us till death do us part. Our pets are with us till death do us part. Our friends are with us till death do us part.
That terrible moment arrived in my house this morning. My dog is no longer with us, due to another person's negligent driving.
I stood outside mourning, trying to restrain the anger that rose up in me. I was contemplating the whole life and death issue when I heard the peacock call. Such a beautiful creature with a call that always sounds as if he is crying for help. Help! Help!
His call is echoing in my heart. The difference is that right now my heart is not beautiful like he is. My heart is black with anger and resentment. I am crying out to God to for help.
Help! Help!
That terrible moment arrived in my house this morning. My dog is no longer with us, due to another person's negligent driving.
I stood outside mourning, trying to restrain the anger that rose up in me. I was contemplating the whole life and death issue when I heard the peacock call. Such a beautiful creature with a call that always sounds as if he is crying for help. Help! Help!
His call is echoing in my heart. The difference is that right now my heart is not beautiful like he is. My heart is black with anger and resentment. I am crying out to God to for help.
Help! Help!
Friday 11 March 2011
Small Scull Creatures
That's what children are. Small Scull Creatures. They are NOT human. They might get to qualify as humans eventually, but when that will happen is an open question.
I read the verse in Proverb 22:6 again last night: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." God definitely has a sense of humor. When the child is OLD he will not depart from it. But what about NOW?
When my children were babies, I wished them to the point where they will talk and be able to tell me what is wrong. Surprise, surprise. With the ability to talk came a personality. And I had little control over the development of that personality. Suddenly I was confronted with a child with her own will. Many a time I did something in the best interest of my child, like grabbing her before she walked into a swimming pool. The only reaction I got for my heroism was anger. She wanted to be in the water. She did not understand the danger. My reward for my caring was her anger.
Then the teenage phase came. I could no longer step in to prevent her from doing something. She had to make her own choices. If I chose for her, rebellion would have been the reward for my caring. So I had to step back and watch. Many times I watched as she walked right into something that caused hurt in the end. A bad friendship. A bad relationship. My heart ached many times as I felt her pain, but I couldn't make her choose differently. My warnings were simply ignored.
Why are Small Scull Creatures so stubborn? Why can't they just learn from the mistakes their parents made? Why do they have to make all the mistakes themselves and learn first hand? One day I want to ask God that question.
So what is the answer to this dilemma? There is no answer other than praying. We teach them and then we pray that what we taught them will be remembered when they suddenly need to choose. And even praying is no easy task. We get demotivated. We get faithless. We feel as if our prayers are simply hitting the ceiling before bouncing back. Where is God in all of this? Why doesn't He just come with a flash of lightning and kill the psychopathic boy she is dating? We get angry at God.
I once wrote a song in such a moment. Here is the first verse and the chorus for you.
God I often wonder where You are
I pray to You and yet You seem so far
In faith I know that I should carry on
But for how long?
Lord assure me of the things I cannot see
Help me call forth those things that's still to be
Grow my faith that I'll be strong
My strength that I'll be faithful.
Copyright Hilda Steyn 1998
For how long do we have to pray for our Small Scull Creatures? Until they are old. Hopefully then, they won't depart from the path we taught them. Many times along the way, we will feel like resigning from parenthood. Somehow, miraculously, God will give us strength to keep praying and to keep believing.
And one day, I hope, I will look at my Small Scull Creature and realize that there is a human being in front of me. May that happen before she is old and I am dead.
The Power of a Praying® Parent Book of Prayers (Power of a Praying Book of Prayers)
I read the verse in Proverb 22:6 again last night: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." God definitely has a sense of humor. When the child is OLD he will not depart from it. But what about NOW?
When my children were babies, I wished them to the point where they will talk and be able to tell me what is wrong. Surprise, surprise. With the ability to talk came a personality. And I had little control over the development of that personality. Suddenly I was confronted with a child with her own will. Many a time I did something in the best interest of my child, like grabbing her before she walked into a swimming pool. The only reaction I got for my heroism was anger. She wanted to be in the water. She did not understand the danger. My reward for my caring was her anger.
Then the teenage phase came. I could no longer step in to prevent her from doing something. She had to make her own choices. If I chose for her, rebellion would have been the reward for my caring. So I had to step back and watch. Many times I watched as she walked right into something that caused hurt in the end. A bad friendship. A bad relationship. My heart ached many times as I felt her pain, but I couldn't make her choose differently. My warnings were simply ignored.
Why are Small Scull Creatures so stubborn? Why can't they just learn from the mistakes their parents made? Why do they have to make all the mistakes themselves and learn first hand? One day I want to ask God that question.
So what is the answer to this dilemma? There is no answer other than praying. We teach them and then we pray that what we taught them will be remembered when they suddenly need to choose. And even praying is no easy task. We get demotivated. We get faithless. We feel as if our prayers are simply hitting the ceiling before bouncing back. Where is God in all of this? Why doesn't He just come with a flash of lightning and kill the psychopathic boy she is dating? We get angry at God.
I once wrote a song in such a moment. Here is the first verse and the chorus for you.
God I often wonder where You are
I pray to You and yet You seem so far
In faith I know that I should carry on
But for how long?
Lord assure me of the things I cannot see
Help me call forth those things that's still to be
Grow my faith that I'll be strong
My strength that I'll be faithful.
Copyright Hilda Steyn 1998
For how long do we have to pray for our Small Scull Creatures? Until they are old. Hopefully then, they won't depart from the path we taught them. Many times along the way, we will feel like resigning from parenthood. Somehow, miraculously, God will give us strength to keep praying and to keep believing.
And one day, I hope, I will look at my Small Scull Creature and realize that there is a human being in front of me. May that happen before she is old and I am dead.
The Power of a Praying® Parent Book of Prayers (Power of a Praying Book of Prayers)
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