WEEKEND STUFF

Hello bloggerflies!! I a still here and missing my blog time so much. I have just been so busy at work and at home - it's that time of the year, you know...

Friday night was o precious. Donovan's graduation was so sweet. They all came out onto stage carrying candles and wearing gradution robes and hats over their blue shirts - he looked SO angelic I couldn't help but sit there and cry. I will put up my photos as soon as I can download them. He recieved a gift from the teachers which is so beautiful, and not what I expected at all. They each got a Bible - A5 size with a hard cover and inside they placed Donovans graduation photo. I was thrilled with this choice of gift, and he has already spent time paging through it and asking me to read him verses.

Saturday morning I went to a babyshower for a friend from church, and last night (sunday) my sisters, brother and myself held our annual sibling supper. I promise to devote an entire post to the evening, right now I am really tired (late sunday nights don't work so well) and I need to get back to work.

As soon as I have pictures of both the graduation and the supper I will post them.

GRADUATION DAY

Yup. It's graduation day for my litte Donovan. He is leaving the world of pre-school behind him and is eagerly moving on to the exciting world of "Big School".

Tomorrow night is the last Pre-School concert for him and also his graduation ceremony. He is very excited about the evening and I am too.

All his Grandparents are going to be there tomorrow night to share in his proud moment.

He is very excited to go to Big School and join the wonderful world of reading and writing and learning. And I will be doing grade 1 for the third time - not counting my own year in grade 1.

I am very proud of him and I will be sure to put up photos of his first day at school too.

My little boy. Aint so little anymore is he...

WAIT FOR GOD...

Yesterday God taught me a very valuable lesson, and a rather humbling one at that too.

I received an e-mail from my very dear friend and she was asking for a little relationship advice. Attached too was a letter she had written to another friend explaining the whole situation. I immediately jumped in with both feet and proceeded to tell her what I thought and felt - without even stopping to consider what the Lords thoughts on the situation were. I blundered on and got quite carried away. And, priding myself on the fact that I will not tell someone who asks me for my advice "what they want to hear" and I will also never "sugar coat the truth" I knew (hmph) that what I was telling her was my "I think" and was therefore correct. It was in NO way Spirit led or filled and I was quite nasty and cold in the way I told her what I thought.
When her reply came back - I instantly knew I had blundered. I sought the Lord very quickly and asked His forgiveness and then asked hers in return for being so thoughtless.
I then very gently and carefully proceeded to tell her what the Lord had laid on my heart to tell her. And I have to say His message was VERY different to mine. It was gentle and loving and encouraging, it was not forceful and demanding and commanding. I felt awful and very humbled.
My friend being the sweet loving person she is holds no grudges and told me that because she knows I care so much for her, she understands - phew!!

A little while later I was reading that little book called "Lord, Change ME!" and the author Evelyn Christenson had written the following piece:

"I Think
What I think really isn't very impressive according to God's Word. There is only one Truth, and that is God Himself. And the only absolute truth on which we can depend for the right kind of changes in our lives is found only in God's Word (John 17:17).
We have a rule about this at our house. Last summer I overheard two of our children discussing it: '"Mother always said truth is truth. It doesn't matter if you believe it or not. And not believing it has nothing to do with the fact that it is truth, and it will not change from being truth just because we choose not to believe it."
Yes whether or not I agree with something has nothing to do with whether or not it is true. My "I think"about a subject niether negates it nor insures its being true.
But we are so prone to believe our "I thinks" are very important. Many times what is billed as Bible Study turns out to be an exchange of our "I thinks". We read the Scripture portion and, using it as a springboard, dive immediately into the inner pool of our "I Thinks" and begin a discussion of whatever comes to our minds. When we are finished telling what we think about the subject other class members usually retain what they think and I keep what I think. It may have been a great discussion, but no one acquired any new truth.
A rule for Bible Study that assures us of getting wisdom from the only wothy Source, God Himslef, is that we don't discuss anything that is not answered in the portion of Scripture being studied on a given day. The teacher, and hopefully the the pupils, will have studied the actual meaning of the text and the answers no longer will be the participants "I Think" but Gods Word. Then we know that the changes we make in our lives based on that lesson are not from the "I Thinks" of people but from God Himself.

However, this does not mean that we cannot learn from each other. Sharing can be a profitable source of wisdom - if the wisdom shared is from a worthy source. If the source has been what God taught the person, then the sharing will be profitable indeed. If the teacher says: "I Think" the pupil may well respond "So What?" And the same holds true when a teacher verbalises his or her own feelings. They are not grounds for expecting or demanding in the pupil. But when the teacher's source of wisdom has come from God, then the "I Thinks" becomes positive wisdom.

I would retype the entire chapter here for you if I had the time - it was amazing! This was exactly what I was doing. I was giving my "I Thinks" and expecting my friend to be changed or to grow from it - but God was not the source of what I was telling her - it was my own feelings and her reponse although she didn't say it, in her heart I know it was "So What?"

Now I know we all make mistakes, and sometimes I believe God allows me to make blunders like this so that He can teach me that I can do nothing apart from Him. (John 15:5) Because I can be very stubborn at times and will insist on doing things my way and then learning the hard way. Thank goodness my friend didn't listen to me when I was giving her my own personal "I Thinks" - it could have caused her much pain and anguish. And thank God for showing me my error and then for pointing it out so very clearly in this wonderful book I am reading. It was just such a confirmation of what I had learned, and God was simply cementing it into my heart so that I will not make the same mistake again. He is so faithful!!

I learned a valuable lesson of Wating For God and using Him as my source of truth and wisdom and not just diving in with my own thoughts and feelings when somebody dear to me comes to me for guidance.

Wait For God - this phrase never meant so much to me in my life as it does today.

DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SQUIRRELS TRYING GET INTO YOUR BIRDFEEDER??

I don't.

I have a MUCH BIGGER problem than that......







































































Silly bear!!

Thanks Reta for sending me this e-mail. ;o)

UNFOLDING ROSEBUD

Today when I read Diane's blog I was reminded of this poem. I do not know who wrote it, but it is so true...









Unfolding Rosebud

It is only a tiny rosebud
A flower of God's design
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine.
The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I
God opens this flower so sweetly
When in my hands they die.
If I cannot unfold a rosebud
This flower of God's design
Then how can I have the wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?
So I'll trust in Him for leading
Each moment of my day
I will look to Him for His guidance
Each step of the pilgrim way.
The pathway that lies before me
Only my Heavenly Father knows
I'll trust Him to unfold the moments
Just as He unfolds the rose.
Anonymous



Aren't these Blue Roses exquisite!?

Does anyone know if there really is such a flower?

BEARING SPIRITUAL FRUIT

Yesterday while I was at the gym I was meditating on Psalm 1. But MOSTLY on verse three of that Psalm:
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (ESV) And then God let me have a look into my own heart at what my “tree” (spiritually) looks like, and when I saw my “tree” I was shocked and dismayed. I noticed that it had really deep roots, and He said to me that I am rooted deeply in Him and I need not be afraid of the winds and storms for I shall not be blown over and I noticed too that I have a very big tree with lots and lots of branches. These are good things.


















What dismayed me was when I saw, with great sadness that my branches were bare. There was one little fruit hanging right at the top of my tree looking very lonely and only a few little leaves here and there. And this troubled me, as well as humbled me, because I can so often be so boastful and full of myself and what I am doing and how well I am doing – but if I am not doing it in Christ or for Christ then it will not show.













I want to bear fruit. I want to be so heavy with fruit that my branches hang on the ground and when I realized that the way I was living my life was not bearing fruit my immediate prayer was: “Lord, remove my bareness and replace it with Your fruitfulness. Forgive me Lord for thinking that I was more important and for not putting You first. Give me a spirit of humbleness and joy that I may begin to bear fruits for You and be a tree worthy of standing in Your orchard.”

And God, being the faithful Father that He is has already begun a process in me. And I look forward to the next time He takes me back into His orchard to show mw my "tree" bearing a considerable amount more fruit than it is at the moment.

It is good to be rooted deeply in Christ and in His word, to be able to withstand the storms and the strong winds - but it is important – even more so that we bear fruit and that other’s can see the fruits we bear. I want to be tree that provides lots and lots of shade for people to rest under when they are weary and while they rest they can have some juicy fruits to eat to replenish their souls.

YOU GOTTA LOVE THESE!!!

HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND!!!

SO WHADDYA WANNA KNOW??

Ask me anything you want to know about me - anything. Leave your questions in a comment and I will answer you there too.
Go for it, be creative I am not scared.
I will tell you anyhting you want to know - except my weight!! LOL!!

UGH! BLEURAGH! GROSS!!

People can be SO gross sometimes. And I know that we all carry germs around with us, they are all over and we are immune to many of them. But I can tell you I have seen and experienced things here at work that just makes my stomach turn!!

For example there is this old guy (well old-ish – but lets not get off the subject here) in the kitchen yesterday and he is very kindly (please note the dripping sacrcasm here) filling the container for the coffee. He is pouring the coffee from the big “tin” which it is bought in into the smaller glass container we have in the kitchen. But, he is using one hand to hold the “tin” to pour and the other hand he has placed inside the glass container to act as a "funnel" or "slide" so as not to spill any coffee onto the counter. So all the coffee first runs over his hand and then into the container - YUCK!!!. Now I don’t know if he washed his hands or not, I doubt it, either way I was so disgusted.

Then there is this other man who works in the store upstairs, and every single tea and lunch time he will come into the kitchen and wash his hands in the sink, then he will either dry them on a dish towel, or he will just leave them wet – mostly he leaves them wet. Then with his wet hands he will open the cupboard, open the tea bag container dig right down to the bottom (???) to get a tea bag and then he uses the sugar too. So he leaves everything wet and soggy wherever he has been. The cupboard door handle, the lids to the containers fot the tea and the sugar – and who knows how many tea bags are wet after he has dug into the bottom of the container. It is so gross! A kitchen is not a place to wash your hands, and then to leave a trail of soggy prints behind you is also just not a nice thing to do.

Then today – and this is just the cherry on top for me, one of the ladies from the factory took a phone call on the phone in reception, she was just there when the call came through. I was sitting there too having a cup of tea – which is now doing back flips in my tummy. After her call I got a call too, on the same phone in reception. And when I hung up the receiver, I realized to my absolute horror, that it was WET from her sweaty ear!!! I nearly hurled!! Now I don’t know if I have mentioned it before, but I have a thing about other people’s bodily fluids – ALL of them!! And sweat is a bodily fluid – ugh, I am gagging just retelling this now… I ran to the loo and wiped my ear off with the sealed alcoholic wipes we have in there, and then I went and wiped it again about a 30 seconds later.
I don't think I will ever use that phone in reception again, and I am seriously considering bringing my own tea to work too. Luckily I don’t drink coffee at work, but the tea thing just puts me off completely!! If I allow it I could probably develop OCD quite easily. Sometimes I think that if we ALL had OCD to a small degree – we would be more conscious of germs and how easily they spread. I mean you won’t believe how many times I have been in the ladies loo and I have heard another lady come in after I have gone into the stall and then whoever she is will leave when she is done WITHOUT washing her hands! 10% of South Africans do not wash their hands after going to the bathroom, that’s a lot!! And that’s just disgusting.
I think the next time I see somebody doing something gross in the kitchen I will not be able to keep quiet. I will just have to blurt out how disgusting whatever they are doing is – and Mr. Soggy Hands – well he just needs to grow some savvy! Plain and simple. And he'd better watch out, enough is enough, I am now on the war path.
I am going to wash my hands and my ear again – BYE!

A SUCCESSFUL SURPRISE

On Friday my hubby came home from a business trip which had taken him away from home for the whole week. I had already decided last weekend to prepare a little surprise for him upon his return on Friday night.
I asked my mom if she would help by fetching the kids on Friday afternoon – as early as she possibly could*, and she got them at around four in the afternoon. I collected rose petals all week from some ladies at work and also from mom. (She threw a packet of yellow petals over the wall when she got the kids! LOL!!) to sprinkle here and there.

Now I had planned to leave work at around three on Friday so I could go home and prepare everything when Hubby phoned and said he would be home at around three!! I told him that he was not allowed home before four, and that he was not to ask questions. He reluctantly agreed – but I knew his curiosity would only spur him on to get home. So I said a little prayer and asked God to delay him in any way he possibly could. Not long after that my darling Hubby phoned me to tell me there was a HUGE road block out of nowhere with one entire side of the road stopped at a time. YES!! Thank You Lord! Needless to say he only got home at about five that afternoon and I had time to get organized.
I set the table for a dinner for two with candles and wine and sprinkled rose petals over the settings. I sprinkled rose petals down the passage and in the room and on the bed - of course. I put on some soft music and in the process I found the C.D with our wedding song on it. I haven’t listened to it for the longest time and I decided to wait until he got home to listen to it.
I also had decided not to cook as it was just too hot. I ordered a pizza and made a lovely salad. The wine had been chilling since the day before and I put in the ice bucket with some ice. Lit the candles and waited patiently for his arrival.
He already knew something was up cause I had told him not to come home before four, but he was still pleasantly surprised when he got home. It was good to see him, I had really missed him since Tuesday.
We poured some cold-drinks and sat out in the garden enjoying the shade and the quietness of the afternoon together. Then I played him our song and it brought back some very special memories for us both, and let’s just say there were some tears shed in a very tender moment. We had a wonderful romantic evening together and I know it is something I will definitely do again. I will not wait so long before I surprise my hubby like that again he deserves it and so much more.

Here are the words to our wedding song, you will see why they are so very special:

The Colour of My Love
I’ll paint my moods in shades of blue
Paint my soul to be with you
I’ll sketch your lips in shaded tones
Draw your mouth to my own
I’ll draw your arms around my waist
Then all doubt I shall erase
I'll paint the rain that softly lands on the window pane

I'll trace a hand to wipe your tears
A look to calm your fears
A silhouette of dark and light
While we hold each other, oh so tight

I’ll paint a sun to warm your heart
Swearing that we’ll never part
That’s the colour of my love
I’ll paint the truth, show how I feel
Try to make you completely real
I’ll use a brush so light and fine
To draw you close
And make you mine

I’ll paint a sun to warm your heart
Swearing that we’ll never, ever part
That’s the colour of my love
I’ll draw the years all passing by
So much to learn, so much to try

And with this ring
Our lives will start
Swearing that we’ll never part
I offer what you cannot buy
Devoted love, Until we die

Ok, even typing these words made me cry. It still echoes exactly what I envisioned for our lives together.

My Babe, I love you. You fill my heart and make me happy and whole. These words were never just pretty words for me; they speak what’s in my heart, the things I didn’t know how to put into words. I am, and always will be devoted to you; you are the love of my life.















*Thanks Mom & Dad for your help, the evening was very special

TRUST

This was the first thing I thought of when I saw this picture. Trust, the trust I have in Jesus. I really trust Him implicitly, and because of this I don't fear for anything.

I know that my family will never go without anything and we will always have enough - even more than enough. I know that my children and my husband and all my other family will be safe and cared for wherever they are. I know that I am where god wants me to be and if He decides to move me somewhere else He will. I know that He has a plan and a purpose for my life, and for all those around me too and I canot wait to get deeper into what He has for me.

He is the source of my strength, and He is the strength of my life (to qoute from Michael W. Smith's song). he is the author and finisher of my faith apart from Him I an do nothing and He goes before me, He will be with me and he will never leave me bnor forsake me. He is my protector and He sets His angels charge over me. I will trust Him with everything and in everything. I trust Him implicitly!

So what thoughts and feelings did this picture invoke within you?