Things were much Better Today.

I must let you know that today was a great day. In response to your enquiries, Shan found her journal tucked away in another book when she went to hand in another assignment. Can you imagine? There we were searching for a journal that was right where it was supposed to be- in her school bag- among the other books. But guess what! We actually searched that bag several times to no avail. Well! God certainly knew where it was. I'm certain there was a lesson to be learned somewhere in that experience. Hmm.. I wonder... I'm going to sleep on that one. It will come home to me by and by.



I received this in my email today:

Ooops! I'll put it on tomorrow if my life is spared. It isn't uploading. Not sure that I really understand that part. Ah well! I'm sure I'll soon learn. Have a blessed night. Love you all.

One of those Mornings

Hi friends,

Today is just one of those mornings for me. I don't know if you have ever had mornings when it seems as if everything that could go wrong has indeed gone wrong. Well! This morning did not begin too well for me as first of all I awakened late with what seems to be the continuation of a headache which I went to bed with last night. I had promised to be ready to go to the hospital with my friend this morning but it was her second phone call that finally aroused me from sleep. I answered the phone but she was unable to hear me as it seems to be malfunctioning so she kept shouting 'hello hello hello!' So much for my headache.

I finally managed to complete the call, had a brief devotion by myself and went downstairs (my husband had already left). I was stunned to see that my daughter (I'm in the process of adopting her) was not ready for school. According to her she had taken her journal home yesterday and was unable to find it. She needed to take it to school with her. I joined the search party but it soon became evident to me that the journal was nowhere in the house. Of course, by this time Shan (short for Shanique) was in tears. She was in no mood for breakfsst and I was determined that she had to eat before leaving for school. By the time she ate she was late for school and of course I was not amused. I really hope she finds her jounal at school because she really put a lot of effort into making it neat and attractive. If she doesn't, much of her information will be missing. Ah well! When she comes this evening I will hear how her day turned out.

You may have realized by now that I was unable to accompany my friend to the hospital. I hope all turns out well for her. The Good Book says: 'In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.' I'm in the process of doing just that. There must be some good reason why Shan lost her journal, I woke up late, I was unable to accompany my friend and I had a headache that made my head feel heavy. No doubt I'll find out all about it in the sweet by and by.

I'm going to get myself some breakfast now and trust God to work out the rest of my day. What a blessing it is to be alive to experience mornings when things go wrong.

Have yourselves a blessed day. Love you all.

It's Time to Let Go

Hi Friends,

It's good to be alive, isn't it? There are so many things our Heavenly Father has provided to enrich our lives and make our hearts glad. Nevertheless, not many persons today are enjoying abundant life. Many of us are too busy fighting our own battles against pain, suffering and injustice. We are therefore unable to stop, be still and recognize that amid the thorns are beautiful, sweet smelling roses.

Is it possible that injury can be endured with patience and without resentment? Is it even possible that we can serve others while our own lives are being battered and broken? I believe so. God sometimes allow His people to endure difficult circumstances so that their lives can be testimonies of His grace and care for all men. Sometimes, like Moses and other patriarchs of old, we become broken in the fingers of God for the ultimate good of those around us. It is through our own broken places that many of our family members, friends, neighbours and even enemies are able to see the great God of the Universe.

Have we ever stopped to comprehend the great truth that opposition and disobedience are calls to reveal grace? Interestingly, grace is needed when it is least deserved. It is when our spouse is at his/her worst that grace is most needed, but isn't that the time when we feel least like giving it? When our children are most obstinate and disobedient it is so easy to mete out justice and withhold grace. We find it easy to forget that God is watching with great interest to see how much compassion we have for those who are wayward.

We are not by nature lovable. My favourite writer made this statement: 'The beasts of the field obey their Creator's law in the instinct which governs them. He speaks to the proud ocean, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further" (Job 38:11); and the waters are prompt to obey His word. The planets are marshaled in perfect order, obeying the laws which God has established. Of all the creatures that God has made upon the earth, man alone is rebellious.' Interesting, isn't it? So then, man in and of himself is an enemy of God. Rebellion hurts so we can safely conclude that when we sin we hurt God since sin is rebellion against the divine authority of God. There's a big question here. Since God so loved us while we were yet sinners- rebellious, unthankful, unholy, why can't we love our enemies? Why can't we love the opposition? God gives to the unjust man rain and sunshine. how then should we treat them as well?

Here is where I'll leave off for today. We need to contemplate these things and see whether we can find it in our hearts to be meek enough to endure hurts with patience and without resentment. Can we love our rebellious children, our difficult spouses, our inquisitive and gossipy neighbour, our difficult employer, our co-worker who libels us, our offending family members, or the thief in our comunity? Can we...Can we...Can we...? We must.

Do have a blessed day. Love you all.

Once again it is a lovely day. The sun is out in all its glory and there is a gentle wind blowing. It is a good morning to be outdoors so I'm about to join my husband outside. He is rarely here during the days so it is good that he decided to work in his nursery today. I'm going to help him fill some bags with soil.

Mikey ( short for Michael) is great with plants. He engrafts many different types of plants and sells them. By the way, did you know that one rose plant can produce a number of different coloured blooms (red , yellow, pink , etc). Well! that's what happens when he engrafts the plants. You can even have a mango tree producing several types of mangoes.

That's actually what happens when we are engrafted into the divine vine. God's people are like a profusion of buds of different hues. For the engrafted branch to grow and flourish it must stay connected to the plant to which it was engrafted. In the same way we must abide in Christ if we are to grow and flourish spiritually. Our God is a God of variety. That's why He made us all different. In spite of our differences, however, we become one plant as soon as we are attached to Christ- the Divine Vine. At first we are weak and fragile but as we are nourished by the vine we are strengthened and no longer easily broken by the storms of life.

Have to go now. Might be back later. Love you all.

Lovely Weather

Wind, lightning and thunder! I have them all today commingled with rain. After the dry spell we had this is most refreshing. Right now I'm as cool as a cucumber. Just yesterday I was saying to a friend that it seemed as if we would get no September rain. Well... It is here. If I were younger I'd probably go out and skip around in it. Suddenly the trees appear much greener. I wonder why.

Guess I'm still a child at heart. Playing in the rain has lost none of its appeal. I know that it's not becoming for an adult but, man oh man, the thought of it gives me great pleasure. I used to love flood rains as a child. We would watch the water swirling around and wish our parents would vanish so we could go outside and enjoy splashing in it like the other children on our street.

Well, that only happened once when my father went to get my mother and brand new baby sister from the hospital. Boy! Did we have fun! Of course a nosy neighbour scolded us from across the road. We went in but she wasn't satisfied it seemed because she told our father when he returned. Of course that didn't end well for us because he spanked us soundly.

Well I daresay I wouldn't get spanked if I were to play in the rain today. Nevertheless, I'm going to be sedate and responsible, I hope, and stay dry.

Have fun with whatever weather you are having.

Be blessed.

Delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Wonderful promise! It is good to imagine getting our fondest dream. What is the desire of your heart today? It is true that God will give us the desires of our hearts but there is a condition attached. We must delight ourselves in the Lord.

So what does it mean to delight ourselves in the Lord? How do we delight ourselves in the Lord?

According to David, God's people should not fret themselves because of evil doers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. Instead they should commit their ways to Him and trust in Him. We are encouraged to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. David then instructs us to cease from anger, forsake wrath and fret not ourselves in any way to do evil.

In short, we need to live in a state of perfect trust. We need to have a deep settled peace as we realize God's presence with us and His work on our behalf. We can continue to praise Him and smile in adversity because no one and nothing can supersede our God.

If we can take such an approach to life we will receive that which God most wants to give us at the time we need it most. Trust Him! He'll do it again for you. Read Psalm 37 and be blessed.

Love you!!!

Praise Him

Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice. (Phil. 4:4)

Somehow we find it easy to praise the Lord when when our circumstances are favourable or when we are experiencing joy. It is much more difficult to offer praise when we face our worst nightmares and it seems as if the very foundation of our world is crumbling away. Yet it is at such times that we need to praise the Lord as praise is a wonderful way of keeping our faith alive. It is when we are having our 'down in the valley' experiences that praise is able to lift us back to the mountain top.

So, how do we rejoice always? How do we praise the Lord when we are experiencing pain, the loss of a loved one, financial embarrassment, social oppression, loss of a job, and the list goes on? First of all we must recognize that praise is an act of faith. We praise God , not because we feel happy but becaise of the truth of who God is and what He has promised us.

Here are some benefits of praise:

• Praise brings down walls. (Joshua 5:13-6:20)
• Praise opens doors of deliverance and transforms the lives of people around us. (Acts 16:16-34)
• Praise conquers battles. (2 Chronicles 20:1-30)

When the towering walls seem to hide your husband, children, or neighbours from view remember the crumbling of the wall of Jericho in response to praise. When circumstances seem to have you bound remember the opening of the prison doors in response to the praise of Paul andf Silas. Finally, my friends, when the battle rages around you and there seems to be no hope remember Jehoshaphat, who appointed singers to sing praises as they faced a great army. At the sound of praises that great army self-destructed.

Keep your eye of faith on Jesus, 'You have nothing to fear for the future unless you forget how God has led you in the past.' (Paraphrased from my favourite writer)

Praise Him for He is worthy.

Blessings!

Lunatic, Devil or God?

Centuries ago a young man showed up on the streets of the Middle East making some radical claims. They seemed preposterous and farfetched. He claimed to be, get this, the King of the Universe. Who was he? A laughable egomaniac? Someone mentally deranged? The greatest imposter ever? Well... The young radical went on to make a series of claims so sweeping that if they were true nothing would ever be the same again. I speak of none other than Jesus of Nazareth.

Sinnners and alcoholics are very much alike. Once an alcoholic always an alcoholic. In the same way, once a sinner always a sinner. We may be sinners saved by grace but sinners nevertheless. We all have scars from our battles for freedom from sin. We struggle daily for the mastery over the sins that so easily beset us. I don't know your personal stories but I know our shared journey-battered and bruised by the enemy of souls.

You would never guess by looking at the smiling masks we wear to cover our faces as we keep replying, 'Fine thasnk you, and you?"in response to the question 'How are you doing?' that our marriages are on the rocks, our children need counselling , we are desperately in need of a job, we are contemplating suicide and the list goes on.

Many of us are defeated, discouraged, depressed and downright despondent, but there is hope spoken in the words of the radical. There is hope that can turn a vanquished sinner into a victorious one. Two words, the two most liberating words ever spoken falls from the lips of this radical. "I AM". In response to the Jews (John 8:58) Jesus of Nazareth declares: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM." There is no doubt that the Jews got His meaning. They knew the story of Exodus 3. They therefore knew that Jesus was claiming to be the great 'I AM' God of the Old Testament- The Self Existent, and Eternal One, the Great Creator God of the Universe and of the burning bush.

What shall we in the 21st century do with Jesus' incontrovertible claim to divinity? He claims to be God! Shall we stone Him too? I guess we are too modern for those primitive measures. It's easy to just ignore or reject Him. It's even easier to forget Him. Nevertheless Jesus asks the question, "What think ye of Christ? Whose son is He?" (Matthew 22:42) How do we in the 21st century respond to His question? What do we think of Jesus?

A man who was just a man and said the things Jesus said would either have to be a lunatic or a devil. So, is it possible that a great prophet could make these claims, or maybe a great teacher? No! No! Never! Who then is this Jesus who declares resoundingly:

I AM the Water of Life (John 4:26)

I AM the Bread of Life (John 6:35)

I AM God (John 8:58)

I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12)

I AM the Door (John 10:7&9)

I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)

I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)

I AM the Vine (John15:5)

I AM the Way (John14:6)

The story of a great musical conductor is told by David McLennon. Arturo Toscanani was rehearsing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. After the last note of the symphony's moving finale had echoed away, silence filled the rehearsal hall. Toscanani then spoke. "Who is Toscanini," he asked. There was no reply. "I am nobody," His voice echoed through the the hall. "It is Beethoven- He is everything." Today, in the 21st century what was true for the followers of Beethoven in the realm of music must be true for the Christian in the realm of life. Jesus must be everything.

The radical declares, "I am the Way."

My friends, what will you do with Jesus?

Will you ignore Him as a lunatic? Reject Him as a devil? Think of Him as a great prophet or even a great teacher? Or, will you crown Him as King of your life?

Jesus (El Gibhor) is everything.

(Source book: The Claim by Dwight K. Nelson

Who is God to You?

I have always been fascinated by the Hebrew names for God. They seem to be so much more personal than just saying 'God'. These names speak volubly to His character. Today, I wish to share a few of my favourites with you. It is my hope that you will capture the essence of his character as you go through my brief list. Then decide: "Who is God to You"?

One of my favourite names for God is 'Elohim'. It refers to Him as God (Creator, Mighty and Strong). I hug the name to me becuse it is wonderful to think of Elohim, the strong and mighty God, just speaking the world into existence.

YHWH/ Yahweh is another of my favourites. It is the revelation of God's name first given to Moses, 'I Am who I Am. The name Yahweh speaks to the fact that God is near to those who call on Him for deliverance. He is near to me. He can be near to you too.

Jehovah Jireh reminds me that God is my provider. I am confident that he can provide for me in the same way he provided for Abraham, the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac.

I am happy that Hagar ascribed the name El Roi to God. She was alone and desperate in the wilderness after being driven out by Sarah but then she met the Angel of the Lord. As soon as she saw Him she realized that El Roi saw her in her distress. She then testified that He is a God who lives and sees all. El Roi means the God of Seeing. Believe me friends, we are living in dark times but God sees us. His eyes are constantly on us.

Now for the name that thrills my soul, Jehovah Rapha, The Lord Who Heals. God is my Healer. He heals both body and soul. My friends, what a God! He is not only interested in healing our physical bodies but He wants to pardon our iniquities and fill us with His grace. Jehovah Rapha, I revel in the name. His healing hand is on me and I am humbled by His grace.

To me God is immortalized as my Jehovah Rapha. My friends... Who is God to you?

Some Texts to Reflect On

This I recall to my mind. therefore have I hope.it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed,because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is is thy faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:21-23


For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11


He shalt cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shall thou trust, His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Psalms 91:4

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

And this is the confidence that we have in Him , that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us.
1 John 5:14

Take heart my friends, God cares. I love you all, but He loves you best.

How to Save Your Marriage

Many perons get married with the expectation that the honeymoon would last forever. They are therefore sadly disappointed when they come frace to face with the grim reality that this is not the case. All too quickly they are bombarded with the realization that marriage is lived out in a real world where difficulties and problems exist.

Marriges do not succeed by chance. A good or successful marriage is the direct product of hard work. If both individuals so joined are not committed to the task, it is inevitable that the marriage will become a torture and without godly instruction will end in heartbreak and misery. So, how do we save our marrriages? While I do not set myself up as an authority on such matters, here are a few tips that should be useful.

• Invite God to be an honoured guest in your home - listen intently to His adviee then act on it.


• Show appreciation for your spouse - use words and not just actions to express your appreciation


• Spend quality time together- don't be too busy to have fun together


• Be committed to your marriage


• Be understanding and supportive of your spouse.


• Take time to communicate effectively- LISTEN WELL- your spouse wants to be heard too


• Your spouse needs sexual fulfilment. Never ignore this need.

Conflicts will occur from time to time. Have a positive appproach to resolving them. Let love and good sense prevail at all times. May your marriages be long and enduring.

I really hope that these tips will be found useful. Love you all.