Be Like a Cow

I heard a very descriptive phrase the other day that really made an impression on me.  It was that we are to be like a cow eating grass, in the way we read the Bible.  Not just to graze on it selectively, a bit here and there, but to chew on an area for ages, then to store it and regurgitate on it throughout the day.  We know that the Bible teaches us to meditate on the scriptures, praying for the Holy Spirit to reveal its hidden truths, but very few of us really know what it means to meditate. The definition of meditate is to think deeply, focus and/or contemplate on something. It is just like worrying incessantly, but instead of towards negative thoughts, towards something powerfully positive!

So now, each morning when I read my Bible, I smile to myself and picture myself as a cow, grazing on luscious, green grass in God’s meadow, keeping it in my cheeks (or rather mind) to regurgitate on it during the day.

Breaking the Circle of Abuse

In all relationships, both in friendships and in marriage, we usually treat the other person the way they treat us, either good or bad. Unless of course, we have become so spiritually mature that we are able to treat others the way we are meant to, despite how badly they treat us!

Sometimes when we become offended, or we have a fall out, we begin to play the tit-for-tat game, treating the other as badly as they treat us. This is particularly true in marriages where the silent treatment is often played out. And being human, we are often just as stubborn as the other, refusing to break the cycle of negative behaviour. It thus takes a very obedient will to be the first one to break the circle/cycle of abuse.
I learnt this lesson at a time when my husband and I had a rather nasty row, caused by a petty disagreement of opinion, and had chosen to ignore each other. Logically, you would have thought that we would have put on loud music to make some noise, but instead we crept along the house in dead silence, as if to magnify our defiance in not speaking to the other! This pitiful behaviour continued for a few days (yes, I realise the Bible says not to go to bed on your anger ) Which is why I think God needed to teach me this lesson, and quick! I was making myself a cup of coffee when I clearly heard the Holy Spirit tell me to make my husband one too. Of course, I thought that was totally absurd and I instantly refused, but when the promptings in my spirit got stronger, I knew I had to obey, so did so reluctantly. I made him a cup of coffee, just the way he liked it, and went up to give it to him, trying very hard to avoid his eyes and not say a word. What that unusual and small gesture taught me was that sometimes one of us has to choose to make the first move towards breaking the circle. It was such a simple act of unexpected kindness, making a cup of coffee for my so-called enemy, yet it had the power to melt the grudge and put us both back on a path to reconciliation. So if you have someone who you are not on speaking terms with, learn from this lesson today! Don't wait for them to make the first move! You have to decide to be the bigger person by obeying God to forgive and restore peace. Imagine yourself taking your sword of faith and cutting that circle and making it a straight line, a path that both of you can walk forward together into a happier relationship.

Peace to Hear

I learnt a very important lesson recently from God and that is that you cannot hear His Holy Spirit speak and guide you if your heart is not at peace. How He taught me this was in the most disturbing manner! I had had a very difficult week dealing with offenses and my heart was certainly not filled with peace. In fact it was the very opposite of peace, which by my definition is a mix of angry chaos! My daughter had been invited to one of her best friend's birthday party, who I knew was very keen on horses. Before heading out to the shops, I prayed a quick prayer that I would be able to find the perfect horse gift. After two days of exhausted shopping to the two main shopping areas some distances away, I had found nothing In the end, I had to resort to buying a non-horse gift which I was very disappointed about. It was a few days later when I had to visit my local town and lo and behold, there in one of the gift shops that I had not even thought of visiting, was what would have been the most perfect gift - a lovely jewellery box with pictures of horses on it! God spoke so clearly to me that if I had been at peace in my heart, I would have been able to hear His voice tell me to visit that shop first. So often when we become rushed or flustered in our lives, our peace is one of our first fruits that is lost. It is almost as if it is an ingredient that cannot dwell in such an environment, so remember, if you want to hear the Holy Spirit clearly, be sure to keep your peace!

God Connections for Our Destiny

Last night I attended a South African Book Launching party for author Mary Strick, in the little town of West Kilbride on the West Coast of Scotland, and being South African AND a hopeful author one day, I was very keen to go. I had heard about it via word of mouth and the couple I had hoped to tag along with could not get a baby-sitter and had to cancel at the last minute. It was then that I almost gave up going, but I felt a strong stirring in my spirit to go, and so not to miss any possible opportunity for a God-connection, I went. Yes, I believe that we do not always meet people by accident and very often, they are people that God brings into our lives for a purpose. Mike Murdock, a well known Christian teacher and author, says that some people we meet hold the keys to unlocking our destiny! So entering the room, I scanned all the faces and could not see a single soul that I knew, which is always very daunting for me But one single chair at a far-end table seemed to become a beacon to me, so I asked if anyone was sitting there and was relieved that it was indeed available. On speaking to the two ladies at the table, I had to smile and thank God, as indeed He had placed me next to an established Author Victoria Campbell and another lady whose name I forget, but who pointed me to the web-site Fischy Music which on having looked at it, I see is a subject I am very passionate about and I know holds information and resources God wanted me to have. Both of these connections have offered me invaluable advice and encouragement and I believe has made a huge impact to reaching my destiny. So next time you are invited somewhere or meet someone, check with God if these are people ordained by Him as a Godly connection, and not just a random, irrelevant meeting. Be open and alert to explore their knowledge by asking questions and prepare to be amazed!

Going After the Prodigals

I recently watched a sermon on one of the Christian TV channels by one of my favourite Preachers, Joel Osteen. He was speaking on how important it is to bring in the prodigals. By that he meant all those Christians who had lost their faith, fallen by the way side, back-slidden and had stopped coming to church. We so often hear about bringing in the lost, but seldom to encourage the prodigals to come back home! I don t know what the statistics are but I am sure that for every new believer there are those that fall away. His message was so simple, yet crucial and really made me think. He said that those people who usually sit around us at church we should consider as our flock and be watching over them and noticing when they are not there. So often, we just wonder what happened to so-and-so, but then we never follow through to find out. Joel says that we must seek after them to encourage them to keep them in the fold. All it takes is a contact to let them know we miss them, we love them and that the body of Christ needs them. Afterwards I couldn t help wondering who I should be looking up to encourage, but God had already heard my heart. That very same day, I bumped into three people who I had not seen for ages and it was as if God was saying to me that these are the ones who needed my encouragement. We must always remember that although our prayers for others are vital, it is very often our own voices that God uses as His mouthpiece to encourage His children!

Never too Busy...

In today's crazy schedules of life, we often battle to balance things and this can so easily end up in our priorities getting all mixed up! God highlighted this lesson to me after my excuses for everything seemed to be Sorry but I ve been too busy . You name it - I was too busy to remember to wish a friend Happy Birthday, too busy to reply to an email, too busy to pick up the phone, too busy to visit with a friend etc etc. So after the umpteenth time of using that excuse, God brought me to the Bible verse that says our lives reflect what s in our hearts and if we are really TOO busy to do good things, then we are TOO busy doing the wrong things! I realised that if my friends or family were a priority in my life, then I shouldn t be too busy for them and if I was finding that I didn t have the time, then I needed to look at where my time was being spent. I also discovered that if there was something I really WANTED to do, I would always somehow manage to make the time. For example, I would wake up early, or go to sleep late doing the thing I wanted to do what was in my heart to do! Slowly I began to get my priorities back into place and now when I find I am too busy to do good, I make the time, even if it means sacrificing that TV program I wanted to watch. God has only given us 24 hours in a day and how we choose to use them, shows God and ourselves what s in our hearts. When we consciously are aware of how we spend our time, and do the things we must do first, even if they aren t fun things, then we will end each day with a feeling of accomplishment. When we don t choose to make time for our friends and family, it conveys to them that they aren t that important in our lives. So stop all the excuses and start getting busy with what God wants us to be doing! And if you are a housewife or stay at home mum, ask God for some of His time management wisdom tips! You'll be amazed at how many time saving ideas the Holy Spirit will give you daily - and of course, being efficient by doing things right the first time, without procrastinating does always help...

From Desperation to Acceptance

Often times in our lives we only learn things in retrospect. That s how it was with this lesson and one I constantly need to remember to apply. It has to do with God wanting us to accept things HIS way. Every time in my life when I was desperate about something, nothing would happen. It didn t matter if I was desperate for something, or desperate for a change and even the opposite to avoid something or not have something happen! I would plead with God, begging Him you name it, I did it, and yet nothing seemed to happen. And then when I got to the end of myself, finally ready to accept things, things would happen, things would change, or the thing I dreaded the most, wouldn t even happen! A perfect example to illustrate this was when I was desperate to have a baby. I felt my biological clock was ticking and I had become frantic to have a baby, but after two miscarriages, I was slowly loosing hope I remember coming to a point and telling God that if it wasn t His will for me to have a child, then that would be okay. Now I realise that probably wasn t the right kind of prayer, as I do believe God wants us to have children, but I think He just needed me to get away from that desperate place and into one of acceptance! Another situation I can share is when my mother-in-law once wanted to come with us on our family holiday. As much as I love my mother-in-law, I knew there would be things we wouldn t be able to do with her and certain challenges it would bring, but it was only when I relented and actually became excited in my heart for her to come, that she changed her mind! I think the lesson God wanted me to learn was that sometimes when He asks us to do something really hard, it s not the actual doing that He wants, but just the agreement of it! Just like Abraham having to sacrifice Isaac.

The Truth about Sorry

I learnt this lesson though a rather painful family fall-out. I won t go into all the details, except to say that I regret having taken so long to learn it. The sad truth about restoring any relationship is that both parties have to participate! We cannot change how another person feels except to pray for God to change their hearts, and for an opportunity to make amends. When my own tragedy occurred, I never believed it would take years to get resolved, but I see now that sometimes God does separate us from people in order to do a work in each of us. The lesson God showed me is that there are always two sides to every breakdown there is the other party s truth of how they perceive what happened, there is your own truth of how you perceive what happened and then there is God s truth, somewhere in-between! In every relationship breakdown, there is not just what was said or done, but how we made the other person feel that often gets in the way and is often the point at where we stumble, because we fail to realise this or put ourselves in the other person's shoes. We often feel justified in what we said or did and therefore we see no need or reason to apologise. Sometimes we can even become self-righteous and believe that it was needed in order to correct the other person. But I believe that anything that is said or done that destroys a relationship is never what God would want - unless of course if the relationship was a poison to you in the first place! By that I mean there are some relationships that are toxic to our growth as a Christian and we would be wise to cut those ones ones off. Unfortunately that is very hard to do when it is with a family member. Often in any relationship there may be times when conflict is needed in order to be honest, but this should be done in love and the end result should always be towards reconciliation. But as humans we can often say or do things in anger in response to an offense and although we cannot erase our words or undo our actions, but we can apologise sincerely from the heart, repent remorsefully and ask them to give us another chance to make amends. What we shouldn t do is to promise never to do it again.

A Lesson in Patience

My greatest lesson in patience was orchestrated by God using a simple thing like my trainers (or if you're from South Africa, tekkies and for other countries jogging shoes). For many years I had a favourite pair that were pink and white and had a zip in the front instead of laces. They were so quick to slip on and off and I loved wearing them. However, after many years, they eventually got a hole in the sole, and I was forced to find a replacement. But alas, I hunted high and low, but could not find the same zip kind that was as comfortable as the ones I had. In the end, I reluctantly ended up buying a pair that had shoe-laces and boy, have they been a huge test on my patience! For one thing, I could no longer just slip into them in second. It seems to take me ages to undo the laces wide enough to fit my feet in, then to readjust the laces so the ends are the same length and then to tie them into a bow. However, the laces are so long they even need to be double-tied! And then getting home to take them off, I first have to struggle to undo the knot of the double-bow, and then only loosen the laces. This all takes a frustrating amount of time! Yes, I have tried just slipping them on and off, but it is impossible - I even have a broken nail as proof! I have to declare, laces were invented for the mega-patient and the not-so-lazy! I feel sorry for my daughter's generation who are growing up with velcro ones. They too will have a hard time adjusting to frustrations of laces in their future.  I just hope they find it a smoother adjustment than I have and that their patience will not be as sorely tested. But then again, they do say that patience can only grow when it is well practiced, so at least I have that reward to look forward to...

Having an Elastic Faith

I've always liked to imagine that when we get born again, an elastic band is placed around ourselves and God so that no matter how far we stretch ourselves away from Him and backslide, we will always bounce right back to Him in the end. By that I mean we can only stretch ourselves so far before we spring back into the arms of God. To me this is a very comforting thought, especially as I pray for all my backslidden family and friends.
As I thought about an elastic band, I was inspired with some other thoughts that I d like to share. We should have an elastic band kind of faith one that is stretched in order for us to grow and one that has a desire to bounce back when we feel life has knocked us down!
Also there are times in our life when we often feel stretched too thin like an elastic band, about to snap. During those times, we should consider that God is stretching us beyond our normal limits in order to grow our faith.
Our prayer should be for God to give us an elastic band kind of faith one that will stretch us beyond what we think we are capable of believing and also stretchy enough to make us bounce up when life tries to get us down!

Marinading in God's Word

There is something amazingly powerful about a marinade. Being South African born, who loves to braai (barbeque), I can testify to the benefits of marinading meat, not only for flavour, but to make it more tender too. So when I read this phrase about marinading in God s Word in a recent Joyce Meyer magazine, it sparked an important lesson in my spirit. To marinade something is to cover or soak it in a liquid or spice to soften, tenderise it and flavour it. I believe we all need these benefits in our lives, and achieving this is through marinading ourselves in the Bible which is God s word to us not just reading or skimming through our favourite books or verses, but to really soak ourselves into every bit of it, becoming fully immersed in what God is trying to teach us through it. I know that when I do this, my heart will be softened, my life will give off more flavour and I will become more tender or sensitive to His Holy Spirit! I also like to consider God s word as a liquid that refreshing our spirits when we drink from it and as a spice, that adds flavour to our lives.

Being True to Who We Are

Some lessons from God we learn through Him speaking to our spirit, others through reading His word and sometimes through other people. This powerful lesson was through the latter the powerful teacher and author John Bevere as read from his book Extraordinary .

He explains how we have 3 images our projected image, our perceived image and our true image. The projected one is the one we are trying to portray, the kind of person we want people to think we are. The perceived image is how we think people see us the kind of reputation we believe to have. And lastly, our true image, the one only God and we can see, and that s only if we are honest with ourselves

It made me realise how often I am not honest in my actions or words and how much people s opinions of me really meant to me. I see now that if God is to be my priority then only His opinion of me should count. In other words, who do I fear most God s disapproval or my husbands, family or friends? It was a light-bulb moment for me to realise that although God loves me unconditionally, His pleasure or approval of me is determined through the choices I make!

It is not always easy to get the balance right here, especially when you are married to a non-believer, and I often have difficulty in trying to keep both God and my husband happy, but going forward, I am determined to do it God s way and leave the consequences to Him!

Laughter is My Sunshine

Living in Scotland, where most days are either grey, raining or both, and having grown up in sunny South Africa, I discovered an amazing sunshine replacement. God showed me that grey days had the power to turn my mood grey too, if I let it. The trick He showed me to resist that happening was through laughter and finding joyful things to distract me from the weather. I discovered that laughter had the power to make the most dreadful day more bearable and somehow kept me from focusing on it. Every time I laughed, my mood naturally lifted and I became less depressed about the weather. It genuinely became my sunshine replacement and helped me through many a grey day. The Bible teaches us that laughter is God’s medicine and indeed it is. It is so powerful to reduce our pain, melt away our hopelessness and gives us an inner effervescent joy! So next time the weather tries to get you down, seek out something funny – a book, a movie or even a joke and get laughing – the deep, down belly laugh that leaves you with hic-cups!!
On a last note, I also learnt from my innocent child that there is no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing!

Here is a poem I wrote to share my feelings...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Laughter is my sunshine,
It keeps me warm and sane.
It makes my life more bearable,
Even when it rains.

So when the sky is grey and dull,
I use laughter to tan my life.
It readjusts my focus,
And irons out all my strife.

Its power lightens up my mood.
It’s the silver lining in my cloud.
I don’t know why or how it works,
But it’s the best anti-depressant around!

So I suggest you follow my lead,
And use laughter to brighten your soul.
Find things that make you laugh,
To take back your mind’s control.

Don’t allow the grey weather,
To darken up your mind.
Just use laughter as your rainbow,
To bring colours to your inside.

Let it shine away the cobwebs,
Let it melt away your pain.
When you laugh as if no one’s watching.
There’s an inner joy you’ll gain.

So whatever makes you laugh,
Whatever makes you smile.
Seek out these things and you will find,
A life much more worthwhile!

Passing the Anger Test

As someone who has battled a lot in the area of anger, I was delighted with myself recently when I consider myself to have passed an ‘Anger Test’ I believe God set just for me! It was the usual rush-hurry day, when I dashed into the car, just in time to collect my daughter from her dancing lesson. Lo and behold, I noticed a small, round mark in the windscreen and thought to myself that a crack was just what I didn’t need right now! Somehow, I let out a sigh from deep inside me and said a quick prayer for extra strength to see me through the day. I even tried to wash the windscreen whilst driving, but alas, the mark remained there and I was convinced that it was a chip that would need to get fixed – a job I didn’t have the time or the patience for, but I chose not to get angry about it. However, when I got to my destination, I took a closer inspection of what I honestly believed was a round chip caused by a stone, only to discover that it was just a stubborn, dirty mark!! I was over-the-moon with joy and thanked and praised God for his goodness! As I calmed myself, I reflected on how much I had grown spiritually, as God reminded me of an earlier time, just a few years before, when the same event happened, but with a very different result – I cursed and swore, ranted and raved, and was left with the nasty chip to be repaired! I like to think that had I reacted in the same way, the chip would have been that, a chip - and not a dirty mark, but because I ‘passed’ the test, the chip was miraculously healed and reduced to a dirty mark instead! I have come to learn through many such incidents that God sets tests for us to pass, and depending on how we react, we either get to redo them for as many times as we need to, or we pass them and progress to the next level in our Christian walk! There are so many things in our everyday lives that can make us angry, but we do have the power through God’s grace to choose not to react to it. Just take a deep breath, say a quick prayer and SMILE!! Unless of course, if it's righteous anger, when it's our action that's needed too... but I'll put that in another blog for another time...

Grace - an Unexpected Gift

As a Christian, I’ve always understood that Grace was a gift God gave us that we didn’t deserve, and that mercy was us not getting what we did, but I’ve never fully understood the full meaning of what grace entailed. According to the dictionary, grace in terms of its Christian meaning is ‘goodwill or favour’, but having recently read the book ‘Extraordinary – The life you’re meant to live’ by best-selling author John Bevere, I’ve learnt that grace is so much more! John explains that grace is actually the power that is released in our lives, that enables us to live the kind of life that pleases God. Many Christians believe, or rather hope, that when they get saved, God waves a magical wand over them that suddenly transforms them into these perfect and pure people . Yes, it can happen that we are so transformed in God’s presence that we are set free from addictions, foul language etc, but in most cases, Christians have a tough time trying to meet the standards set in the Bible, purely because they do not understand this gift of grace that God has given them. I can speak from experience when I admit what a struggle it can be to try and live a Godly life in your own ability. For many years I battled to quit smoking. So you can imagine my delight to learn that not only was it grace’s power that I needed to do that, but I also learnt how to access it. John explains that our faith is the pipeline of grace, and that grace is the water that flows to us. Although we get connected to this pipeline when we become Christians, we need to learn how to access the power of the grace water in order to be able to achieve the life that God meant for us to be living. If we were able to catch just a glimpse of the kind of power that God intended for us to have, we would certainly agree that Grace is a much needed and unexpected gift!

Recalculating Your GPS

I love the invention of the Sat Nav! I admit it took me a while to learn to trust a ‘machine’, but I am grateful for it now because it has saved many a conflict in my marriage in directing us to places where my map-reading skills would surely have failed us!

What I particularly love about the Sat Nav is its ability to recalculate your route when you’ve taken a wrong turning and not followed the course it has given you. It reminds me of the way God recalculates our own lives when we’ve made a mistake or failed to carry out His purpose in our lives. He is so talented and merciful at turning every bad choice we’ve made, into something good and useful for our lives. He restores everything we've lost and when our lives take a wrong turn or when we’ve given up on our dreams, God always somehow finds a way of getting us back on course – of reminding us of His purpose for our lives! So as I key in my destination of Heaven, and submit and align myself to His will, I know I can confidently trust that the Holy Spirit will direct my steps in helping me to reach it, and when I miss the mark, all I need to do is recalculate my GPS and get back on track again!