Community Living

I was commenting to a friend recently, how fortunate I was that my grocery store, my daughter's school, my church and now even my job, are all within walking distance from where I live. I strongly believe in community living and I like to think that God intends for us to feed and be fed within the local area that we find ourselves living. I have always trusted God that when I follow His leadi as to where we should live, then I can rest assured that all my needs will be provided for locally.  So often, I find that people just look for a job or a house, prioritising on the title, without being specific on the location. And then when they find one quite far away, they complain about the traffic-jams and the amount of time it takes to commute. My advice would still be to be specific on what you are looking for, but only within a reasonable distance that you would be happy to travel to. Imagine if we all did this, how calmer and clearer the roads would be...

However, in saying that, I do accept that when a job is not available locally, then God always has a good reason in mind. Perhaps we are not even living in an area that God intended us to or maybe He wants you to move to your work area or perhaps He has a purpose in the commute that will be needed. Oftentimes when we have to commute a fair distance, it offers us the opportunity to teach us patience, tolerance and endurance. Or maybe just to have that time where we can listen to music or speak to God in prayer. Traffic jams can give us the opportunity to practise courtesy and kindness to others - something that is sadly and sorely needed in this day and age! Or perhaps if you need to travel by bus or train, that God has a person He wants you to meet, to encourage, witness to or just be friends with. 

Going back to the topic of community, we need to be more mindful of being a part of something bigger and with a real aim to become a part of it to help make it a better place to live. We need to get out there and connect with our neighbours more - going beyond just the greeting level. God places us in a community for a reason - let's all strive this coming year to discover what that is...

67 Words for Mandela Day

For Mandela day, the most valuable contribution I feel I can make to humanity is to share the Gospel. So instead of 67 minutes, here is the Gospel, 'according to Sam' in 67 words...

For me, the crux of the Gospel message lies in 3 simple words - God loves YOU! When you truly believe that He does, fully understanding who God is and what Love really means, all of life's problems are solved.  If you are a struggling Christian, then perhaps the reason is not fully getting to grips with one of these three pillars - God, love and you!

Life Lessons from Candy Crush...

1) No matter how impossible a situation seems, there IS always a solution!

2)  Never give up! Victory is just one more try ahead.

3)  You only have so much time to work with, so don't waste it!

4)  Working in teams always leads to success.

5)  Always have a goal to reach for.

6)  Too much chocolate is bad for you, so you must always limit your helpings.

7)  Make sure you are focusing on the right priorities.

8)  Life is one big saga, so just play along.

9)  Life is all about reaching the next level.

10) Between levels are always challenging times that need patience and time.

11) Breaking free of stuff always leads to success.

12) Life is full of colourful, sweet gems that bring sparkles of joy when we take the time to see them.

13) It can become frustrating when trying to succeed, but every failure is one step closer to victory.

14) The longer it takes to succeed, the higher the level of satisfaction with the reward.

15) Patience is practised and increased when you maintain a hope of succeeding.

16) Dark times in our lives are conquered by going through it.

17) Always keep your treasures where they can be of more use to you and others.

18) Sometimes we can become too set in our ways like jelly, and we need to shake things up a bit.

19) Life is all about making the right moves before your time runs out.

20) Sometime to get more out of life, we have to ask our friends for help.

21) We all could use a booster or two to get us through life, but choose them wisely.

22) If you don't use your talents when you can, you will loose them.

23) The impossible challenges in life takes many tries and lots of patience.

24) Don't always struggle in life on your own - a friend can save you in times of need.

25) When you cannot go further or ahead in life, just perfect what you've already accomplished.

26) Practise always makes perfect.

27) When a level is too easy to achieve, it looses significance and makes you appreciate it less.

Memories before Money

I often tend to be quite tight-fisted when it comes to spending money on entertainment.  I would much rather buy the DVD, make my own popcorn and watch the movie in the comfort of my home, often forgetting that it is the experience of the 'bigscreen' that is more often worth paying the extra bucks for.  Not to mention all the places children like to go to that always ends up costing a fortune.  I have my sister to thank for making me realise that sometimes the good, happy memories we want our children to remember does cost money, often more than what we would like to spend.  It is at these times when we have to ask ourselves if the memory of the event will be worth it.  Money certainly cannot buy happiness, but it can and does buy very happy memories, which incidentally must be photographed, so that years from now, we can look back at the photos and realise the value we made in purchasing that memory. 

Waiting with Patience

I've come to discover that waiting for something is God's oven for growing patience in us.  For the past 6 months we have been patiently looking for a bigger home, to no avail.  We know exactly what we would like, but it just doesn't seem to be out there. Somedays I get discouraged and think that maybe we are just being too fussy, but I know that because I love the Lord, my desires are His too. There is nothing that's impossible when it comes to God, just as long as we are truly grateful for what we already have.  I don't believe that God will 'enlarge our territories' if our motives are wrong for wanting things.  There is something profound that happens when we find ourselves waiting desperately on something better to come along.  God expects us to dream big but sometimes our patience always seems to run out quicker than we had thought, not to mention our hope of the thing eventually happening keeps falling out of our grasp.  It takes a special level of maturity in our faith to keep on focusing on our dream, waiting patiently, with a good, positive attitude and not loose hope.  So often we tend to want to give up when it seems to be taking too long or when we've grown weary from waiting, or sadly, we decide to settle for second best, when we know that's not 100% what we wanted.  I'm sure if we could hear God asking us if we would just trust Him, the waiting would become easier, but it is often in these waiting times that we cannot seem to hear or feel God leading us, where we end up giving up the wait and doing our own thing.  For me, waiting patiently is my way of letting God know that I choose daily to keep on trusting Him and especially in His timing.  God knows what we need before we've even prayed for it and just because it hasn't happened yet, it doesn't mean we aren't going to get it - it just means we have to wait a little longer, with an expectant heart, knowing that it's during these times in God's waiting room, that is going to grow not only our patience, but our faith and trust as well!  And if the thing we are waiting for never does happen, then either we've been waiting wrong, or God must have a very good reason, or perhaps even something better in store for us...

Staying Connecting to your Spouse

I love it when God teaches me life lessons from movies.  The other night I watched one which was truly a wake-up call!  It was called ‘At Middleton’ and is a wonderful demonstration of a problem that occurs in many marriages, especially with couples with an only-child.  It depicts two families where the mom and daughter of one and the father and son of another meet during a College orientation visit.   It soon becomes apparent that these families have allowed their respective children to become the centre of their marriage and had lost all connection with their spouses.  The classic ‘Empty-Nest’ syndrome is bad enough as it is, without feeling like you are left living with a stranger.  Therefore I believe it is vital to stay connected to your spouse – by making time for each other, especially where your focus is not just about the children, and where your conversations don’t just revolve around them.  Spend time together once the kids have gone to bed to catch up with one another about each other’s day and share intimate things that goes beyond just the daily life-living yes and no answers.  As for me, I love cuddling up on the couch with my hubby, watching a movie together, sharing a bowl of popcorn, and then discussing the movie in full detail afterwards.  It’s amazing how different a person’s perspective is when you care enough to share your opinions.  So often we get caught up just asking surface questions that don’t allow the opening up and sharing of our emotional core – I truly believe it's in all that touchy, feeling stuff where true connections occurs.  Even as you grow and change in your life and marriage, we need to allow our spouses to join in our growth adventure, so he can get to know the real, authentic you... and visa versa.  So often we criticize them for not being the man that we married anymore, while forgetting that we are no longer the same person that they married.  I think it is a good and normal thing to change, and hopefully improve as we get older.  So as I personally take up this challenge to try and stay connected to my husband and show an interest in what interests him, I am investing in a long marriage of growing old together... and making sure we survive beyond my daughter's University or College years!!

Living like a Jelly-fish...

As a bonafida control-freak, I have often found that God seems to orchestrate my life where all my lengthy research, planning and organizing has to be thrown out the window, usually at a moments notice! The lesson I've gotten from this, is that God obviously doesn't want us to be in such control of our lives, that there is no need to trust Him.  I find it very difficult to go-with-the-flow, where the need to adapt and to be flexible is required.

I've found that when I try to maintain a tight reign on our life, my expectations get too high and ridgit. At times like these, I find it helpful to imagine myself like a jelly-fish, floating aimlessly across the sea, going where the tides of life take me, and most of all, enjoying it! When our expectations are lessened to the degree of acceptability, we can be better positioned to be surprised, delighted and grateful when things turn out better than we expected! So if your control on your life is ruining it, then start behaving like a floating jellyfish, with no worries and see where God will take you....

Storms of Life

As I read and hear about the horrendous storms battering my ex-home town in Scotland, I am reminded about the spiritual lessons that storms can teach us. Personally, as I sit here enjoying the calming sunshine of sunny Cape Town, it feels like I too am experiencing my own sort of storm - not the physical weather kind, but more in a spiritual sense.  I feel myself battered by the gales of disappointments and discouragement, wondering how much more I can withstand. The hail stones of challenges and obstacles are coming against me in all directions, and I too, like the fishermen of Bible days, find myself wondering why God has forsaken me.  I know He hasn't, but it sure feels like it at times!  Two months on, and we are still without a tenant, our house being succumbed by its own storm damage, our boxes not even having left Scotland yet, and our attempts at buying a car met with one 'sold' after another! It is difficult to trust God in lifes storms when nothing is making sense, but I take my encouragement from the fact that no matter how fierce the storm, they do always come to an end; seasons do always change and if I just keep myself anchored in my trusting faith in a God who controls all things, I can wait it out in safety, hopefully without too much damage...