TO SAY THANKS

I want to leave a post here for all the wonderful people who visit and comment on my blog. I cannot tell you how awesome it is to see comments in my in-box. I am acknowledging you here because I cannot visit your blogs or leave replies to your comments on my blog as access to blogs has been blocked at work (which is the only place I had access to blogs from…) I am able to e-mail posts to my blog and Angel helps to publish them for me. So pleeeeeease don’t take it personally that I don’t stop over to read your blog – I so wish I could! To be able to get to know you all better would be the most awesome thing ever!

So to my sweet sis for all your help, you make blogging possible even when it’s not - and for your comments and to everyone else who visits and comments – Mel, Wenchy – thank you, from the heart of my bottom. Thank you!

Mwa! Mwa! Mwa!

5 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA

Angel over at Angels Mind wrote a post about this on her blog and because she did it “late” she didn’t tag anyone. But I decided I wanted to do my own post for this anyway. Now I haven’t seen any of the other bloggers, except hers (cause I get an e-mail version) who have put up this post so I don’t know how repetitive mine will be. In no specific order, these are the things I love about living in and being a South African!

Our language and “slang” – For example: “I can like to haff a lekka chat wiff anudder souf effrikun en he can like to unnerstan ikzakly wot I’m saying. We like to gooi a cow on the braai and gooi somma anything else we want in the mix too. And its mos the best thing to bump into another Souf Effrikun innanother country (you can tell it’s a Souf Affie from the Sprinkgbok jersey, cap, scarf, t-shirt etc…) and yell BOKKE! at one each other.”

We don’t live in apartments, we don’t have elevators or traffic lights we live in flats we use lifts and we have ROBOTS on our streets!! And anything can happen “now now”… We are going now-now, I am coming now-now. When? Now-now! Dis mos lekka!

Our Rugby team!! Especially Victor Matfield – oh baby!! We are the current World Champs, and I love the Bokke!!

Our Wines – We have got some fabulous wineries and wine and wine routes in this country.

The Big 5 - Who can top that? The Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and Rhino. No other country has anything like them.

And our Radio Stations – 5FM, 94.7 Highveld Stereo and 94.2 Jacaranda, 103FM Impact Radio and Tuks FM to name a few. I love the DJ’s and the music. Lots of South African music as well as world wide hits and awesome competitions! I have won a few times on the radio myself. I think we have the best Radio stations in the world. Granted I have never experienced other countries radio stations – but from feedback I have heard from people visiting other countries – there is nothing like S.A Radio!

We have it all in this country, and that’s why I love it here and the reason I am Proudly South African.

MY BLISSFUL DAY OFF!!

Yesterday was a public holiday. A day off in the middle of the week. A little oasis in the middle of huge dry desert (that’s my work). And I took full advantage – especially since my husband is away for the week and I could spend some time on me!

I went and did my grocery shopping – a.l.o.n.e. without my hubby – I had all the time in the world to look at stuff, compare prices, and not run through the store like a crazy lady begging (yelling) her husband to just hang on a few seconds. Or running after the trolley with arms full of stuff cause he’s buggered off down the next isle somewhere. And then getting to the till to find two of everything in the trolley cause neither knows from one isle to the next who’s putting what into it!

I could shop as loooooong as I wanted which is a real luxury for me. I could shop like all women LOVE to shop – on my own time! Why do men hate shopping so much?

When I came home I pampered myself a little. After all that shopping I needed it!! I coloured my hair. I shaped (plucked) and tinted my eyebrows. I gave myself a facial – mask and all. I painted my toenails and French manicured my fingernails. I blow dried and styled my hair and then I lay and vegetated in my room watching the telly.

There was nothing good on – but still it was nice to just lie there looking gorgeous and doing nothing, nibbling a chocolate and drinking a glass of wine!!

I think I missed my calling – professional shopper and beautician. Anyone need the hair, nails or eyebrows done? I can give you a facial too.

Hopefully the “gorgeousness” will last till he gets back on Monday – I don’t have another day off to redo it all…

Although there is Saturday, but I have a lot of washing etc to do… then there’s Sunday, I am sure I could do another round of pampering on Sunday…

THOUGHT PROVOKING PICTURES

Did you know the Rose of Sharon (not just as the Hibiscus..)?

Have you ever wondered what the Lily of the Valley looks like?

Have you ever imagined that you are the apple of someone’s eye?

Do you know the Alpha and Omega?

Have you ever been lost in prayer and worship?

Will you let yourself be molded in the Potters Hands?

Do you know anyone who loves you enough to die for you?

Jesus is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the valley (Song of Songs 2:1)

You are the Apple of His eye.

Jesus is the Alpha and Omega (Rev 1:8)

Praise and Worship – Read ALL the psalms! David spent more time caught up in the presence of God than man.

Clay in the Potters hands (Isaiah 64:8)

Do you know anyone who loves you enough to die for you? (John 3:16)

AMAZING LOVE!!!

God and I have our very own song!! It’s really so cool. Every time I hear it I say “Here’s our song Lord!” it is significant because He spoke to me through this particular song. I heard his voice say the words “I love you” as clear as a bell when I heard it the one day.

I was so moved by it that I was brought to my knees in a heap of tears. His presence was so powerful and so consuming that I was completely oblivious to the rest of the world – for just those few minutes I was lost in His love completely!

Oh what an experience – that has brought me to long for him more and more and to find myself in is presence whenever I can. A guy who preached at church on Sunday put it like this: It’s not that we have to read our bibles – we get to read it. It’s not that we have to pray it that we get to have communication with God – what privileges!!

And now I can think of nothing better and of no better place to be than in his presence. I am completely addicted to Him.

Remember the first time you fell in love? Remember how you lived to hear your new lover’s voice, or feel his touch or read his love letters? That’s how I am in love with Jesus. He is the be all and end all of my life. He is the lover of my soul! And it’s a good thing because when we love and are loved by him we are able to love others more completely and unconditionally.

You see, he knows absolutely everything there is to know about me. He knows every dark little secret and every private dream and every hope and every hurt and every single tear and fear. He has seen the very depths of my heart – yet he still loves me 100% unconditionally. There is nothing I can do or have to do to earn his love.

He knew me even before I was forming in my mother’s womb. He had a plan for my life and he had prepared good works for me even before I was created. He watched me forming in the darkness of the womb end even then he loved me.

His love is an all consuming, mind blowing, terrifying love. It never ends and it has no beginning. It covers over a multitude of wrongs and comforts and strengthens me. There is none that can ever compare to him. He holds my heart firmly in his hands

This is the song that I am talking about. It is still “Our Song”.

"When You Say You Love Me"

Like the sound of silence calling
I hear your voice and suddenly
I'm falling, lost in a dream.
Like the echoes of our souls are meeting
You say those words and my heart stops beating.
I wonder what it means.
What could it be that comes over me?
At times I can't move.
At times I can hardly breathe.

When you say you love me
The world goes still, so still inside and
When you say you love me
For a moment, there's no one else alive

You're the one I've always thought of.
I don't know how, but I feel sheltered in your love.
You're where I belong.
And when you're with me if I close my eyes,
There are times I swear I feel like I can fly
For a moment in time.
Somewhere between the Heavens and Earth
Frozen in time, Oh when you say those words.

When you say you love me
The world goes still, so still inside and
When you say you love me
For a moment, there's no one else alive

[bridge:]
And this journey that we're on.
How far we've come and I celebrate every moment.
And when you say you love me
That's all you have to say.
I'll always feel this way.

When you say you love me
The world goes still, so still inside and
When you say you love me
In that moment, I know why I'm alive
When you say you love me.

When you say you love me.
Do you know how I love you?

Thank you Jesus for loving me.

I love you!!

Current Addictions

Ok, this is going to be a little difficult as I have been stripped of all my addictions one by one. I have only one MAJOR addiction. And seeing as I am not doing as the rules say exactly I won’t be tagging anyone either

Now, here’s the rules:

*Post at least five current addictions and why you’re addicted to them
*Link to Being Brazen the creator of the meme (awesome way to get people to come and check you out) and to the person who tagged you.

This post is thanks to Angel, from Angel’s Mind as she tagged me. My first tag in AGES!!! Thanks Sis!!!
*Head your post with "Current addictions"
*Tag at least two people and pass on the above rules

1) Jesus, I am addicted to Jesus (A-2-J). He is my Saviour, my Lord, my rock and my fortress. He is my reason for living, I don’t enter into anything without consulting Him and I never go anywhere without asking His protection.

He is the lover of my soul, the hero of my heart, my knight in shining armor and my Mighty Hero God!!

I don’t believe in having any addictions, because these things become more important than God and I don’t ever want to loose sight of him as the author and finisher of my life and my faith. And I will not place my faith in anything or anyone else.

This is a song that Carman sang – which made me think twice a long time ago:

Addicted to Jesus

Yo what up fellas?
Yo, what up Carman!
Hey, have you heard of A-2-J?
A to what? I’ve heard of A to Z?
As in, are you A-2-J?

Let me take you to school…

Gimme a J! J, you got your J
Gimme an E! E, you got your E
Gimme an SUS! SUS, you got your SUS
What does it spell? Jesus

What do you got? Jesus

Break it down… Jesus

J-J-Jesus…

People get addicted, To new things everyday
Television, video's Yo what can I say?
Shoppin till they dropping, Hoppin at the mall
Yakkin, yakkin on the phone, Who else should we call?

But I stand with the man, Who made the blind to see
Livin large, super charged, He something in me (He sure did!!)
Check it out, it’s about, A total change of mind
Don't wait too late, You may run out of time

CHORUS:

Stand tall (stand tall)
Stand strong (stand strong)
Sing it loud (say it loud)
Sing it looooooong
Bust the Devil (bust him up)
Up in pieces (I said bust him up)

Get alive with God
Addicted to Jesus!

People they go crazy, don't know when to stop
Runnin, Joggin, exercisin, “I wanna pump you up”
Smokin in the boys room, Drink up all the booze
Druggin, crackin, heartattackin
bzzzzzzzzzzzz - Brother you lose

No common sight, crime at night - Danger 'round the bend
No way out, yo its about, Being born again
Paid the price, sacrifice - The cross on Calvary
It's done, He won, and you can be free

CHORUS

Addiction, you know everybody’s got
From top to the very bottom of the list
So come get you fix on addiction,
You don't wanna miss to Christ who paid the price
Died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sin,

so I'll say it again - Me and my boys are addicted to Him

Praise him, praise him, praise him
GO! Praise Him, praise Him, praise Him

GO! Praise Him, praise Him, praise Him

GO! Praise the Lord with your feet (x2)

Stand tall (stand tall)
Stand strong (stand strong)
Sing it loud (say it loud)
Sing it looooooong
Bust the Devil (bust him up)
Up in pieces (I said bust him up)

Get alive with God...

Stand tall (stand tall)
Stand strong (stand strong)
Sing it loud (say it loud)
Sing it looooooong
Bust the Devil (bust him up)
Up in pieces (I said bust him up)

Get alive with God

Addicted to Jesus!

A-2-J

DON'T MESS WITH THIS MAMMA; I HAVE JESUS IN MY CORNER!!

Ok, I now that my last post was about how I wanted to post off my oldest son – truth is, I was really so in the midst of things that I almost let my emotions get the better of me. Although my patience and my perseverance was tested this last week as I have never had it tested before, it was still fruitful in the end. Let me explain…

But first let me set the scene….

{Picture if you will a boxing ring with a single spotlight overhead. In the center of the ring is a gentleman with a Tuxedo on and a microphone is lowered before him from the darkness beyond the spotlight. He introduces the “fighters”. Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight’s dual is an age old battle of teenager against rules and parental boundaries. The fight that will last 4 rounds, the rules are as follows. No punches below the belt, no fighting dirty. Prayer can be used as a weapon at any time and both fighters are to move back to their corners at the sound of the bell. Now, let me introduce the fighters to you! In the Red corner, weighing in at 15 years old with an attitude to boot and a defiance to match iiiiiiisssssssssssszza Maaaaark-a Maaaaaatttthewsssssza! And in the white corner, weighing in at years of parenting and sacrifice and love, with a longing to teach her children respect and discipline, with the Jesus Christ as her personal trainer and coach iiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssza theeeeeea Prayiiiiiing Mooooootherrrrrrr!!!!!!

Fighters, please enter the center ring, respect and obey the rules, and remember you can use your one permitted weapon at any or at all times.}

My oldest son really pushed and tested his boundaries by breaking almost every rule we have ever put into place. And he did this while my husband was away for the week on a business trip. So I had to deal with each incident alone. One thing I did though, before confronting him each time (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) was to seek God for wisdom, strength, words and composure – and I tell you I really felt His presence during each encounter and was very encouraging to know that I was not alone. I was invincible and I stood my ground knowing that I was doing the right thing, no matter how difficult or unpleasant it was.

I decided on punishments appropriate to the crimes and the behavior and then I would have to inform my husband of the goings on at home everyday. That was hard and I imagine it was hard on him too especially being away from home. He assured me that he would take over and deal it when he came home.

I spent a lot of time praying for my husband. I prayed that God would give him wisdom, strength and calmness to deal with the situation. I prayed that he would see things for what they were and not be fooled by lies and manipulations. I prayed that my husband would support and uphold my decisions made in his absence.

Well, I was blown away. My husband came home and sat ALL THREE the boys down at the dinner table and basically told them that even in his absence his authority is still the governing authority. He told them that I was his partner and I came “before” them and that if they disobey me when he is not home they are disobeying him. And when they disrespect me, they are disrespecting him. Everything I prayed for was answered and I was overjoyed!! I was then able to also affirm my husband after the fact and tell him that I was very impressed with the way he handled the situation and I was proud of him. And that’s the truth!! I really was proud of him! And secretly I was proud of me too. I am so thankful that God was so faithful in answering my prayers each time I came to him. I learned so much from this whole experience and I will always deal with conflict or disobedience or defiance in this manner. It is the only way that has positive results.

So, don’t mess with this mamma – I have Jesus in my corner – and I remembered to use the weapon I had at my disposal at all times!!

~~posted for brigitte by her sister angel

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!

Does anybody want a 15 year old? (He will be 16 in Feb) You can have him for free, I won’t ask for payment. He has is a GEM of a child, with lots of perks. Here, I’ll list them for you to wet your appetites a bit…

- There are guaranteed mood swings and grumpiness.
- He will never say hello, thank you or good morning. (Even though you have taught it to him since he was little)
- He will probably punch holes in your doors when he looses his temper over something stupid like bumping his head or spilling something on himself.
- He has no regard for rules whatsoever, and will blatantly disobey them – no matter how explicitly you lay them and the consequences of breaking them out for him.
- He will never lift a finger around the house and if he does (after you have asked him like 100 000 000 000 000 times to do something) it is a HUGE effort for him and takes forever.
- And homework and studying for tests is ALL left to the very last minute - or just not done at all.

Now, I ask you doesn’t he just sound like the perfect child? He is 100% rebellious and unpleasant all the time, and he thinks believes he is always right.

Ok. Let me get serious for a moment. I am not really going to give my son away (I mean, I am sure the people will be breaking down my door to have him…). No, I am going to do what Bree did in Desperate Housewives and drive him out to some forsaken garage in the middle of the Karoo desert and leave him there to do whatever he wants with himself.

I am just feeling SO utterly “moedeloos”^*. My husband has been away this week on business and since Monday, there have been non stop issues with this kid. I removed his bedroom door on Tuesday evening because he punched a hole in my bathroom door on Monday. Then on Tuesday he was at his friend’s house (which he knows is not allowed) – and I had to speak to him about that too on Tuesday evening and remind him that the rules are no friends during the week. No having friends over and no going to friends’ house. Fridays is ok – then there is a bit of freedom to do that, but Monday to Thursday it is not allowed. And I had to lay out some kind of punishment that will take place if this rule is not obeyed.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I discover (after 8:00pm only) that the one bedroom window is broken. He had had a friend over and there were silly games played in the house and someone got pushed and fell back into the window. Now, thank God no one was hurt – it could have been an absolute disaster had that happened. But the fact remains – none of this would have happened if the rules had been obeyed, right? If he had shown just a modicum of respect and obedience – this would not have happened. I wouldn’t be all upset, I wouldn’t have had to punish anyone and there wouldn’t be a “vibe” around the house.

(I am the cause of the vibe though because I am so totally PISSED OFF!!!)

erm….

So now, not only does he not have a bedroom door, but he has no cell-phone, his bedtime has been moved back an hour and there will be no going to play soccer on the weekends with friends – for the rest of this month. And I think we will put him into the Primary School Aftercare Center too so he wont be able to come home alone everyday anymore either. See, when I spoke to him on Tuesday I told him that I would take away ALL his privileges if he didn’t stick to the rules, and he said he didn’t have any. Well, now he really doesn’t have any and we will see how he feels about that.

I have absolutely had it! And all of this in THREE days – I am ready to just move to another town, no city, no continent! Either that or send him to another planet.

My offer still stands – any takers, anybody….

^* It is an Afrikaans term used here in South Africa to express that you are absolutely hopeless – it just doesn’t sound as good as “moedeloos”.





~~published on behalf of an internet access-less Brigitte by her sister Angel~~