Die besluit om te glo

In Mark 9:14-27 lees ons vanaand die storie van die man met die bose geeste (heel moontlik epileptiese aanvalle)wat nie deur die dissipels gesond gemaak kon word nie. Jesus sê vir die seun se Pa in vers 23: "As U iets kan doen, sê jy... vir die een wat glo, kan alles gebeur". Om te glo is 'n besluit, en ons sê eintlik vir Jesus "Here, ons glo, help ons in ons ongeloof. Ons 2 Smitte moet keer op keer vir die Here vergifnis vra vir ons ongeloof. Dis nie dat ons nie glo dat God ons sal antwoord nie, dis net dat dit so lank vat! Maar Kenneth Copeland het al baie jare gelede gesê dat Faith & Patience die Power Twins is. Wel, ons moet seker maar net geduldig wees en baie bid.

Vanoggend toe ons 2 gaan fietsry het ons die mees ongelooflike reënboog gesien - ek kon ongelukkig nie stop om 'n foto te neem nie (Ben laat my nie toe nie!), maar hierdie foto het ek in 2006 geneem en gedink dis die mooiste ooit. Vanoggend s'n was nog mooier en was die volle 180 grade boog. Dit was absoluut stunning!

Vas & Bid... tot 'n Lewende God!

Ek en Ben vas en bid vandag vir The Flour Basket en ons hele toekoms... ek kry toe vanoggend die eletroniese dagstukkie en is so verskriklik dankbaar dat ons gebede vandag direk na 'n lewende God gaan wat definitief nie van hout of klip gemaak is nie. Lees hier...

But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men… they have ears, but cannot hear…Psalm 115:4 & 5, NIV

I once sat on a bus in Japan and talked to a young woman about my faith. I explained that I spoke to God in prayer and He answered my prayers, so I knew He was real. She was astonished. “When we say prayers to idols we don't expect them to answer us”, she said. She understood something for the first time and I did too. Two world cultures were meeting and discovering the differences between them.When I was six years old my father almost drowned in the sea. I was told by my mother that after hours in a life belt in the freezing cold sea, when all hope of survival had gone, he prayed and committed his family into God's hands. It was immediately after that prayer that the lifeboat arrived and came to rescue him. At six years old I learnt that God exists and hears our prayers.On arrival in Japan it was a shock to see lots of stone idols lined up on the wall of the temple. Each had a red bib tied on and pieces of fruit laid out in front of them. The trees at the Shinto Shrine had lots of bits of paper tied on to them. On each paper was a prayer, at least a kind of prayer. Why did the Japanese do things like that? If you ask them they say they don't believe in any kind of God. But I believe the reality is that they fear not doing these traditional ceremonies in case something evil might come upon them.Missionaries in Japan have the wonderful privilege of telling the Japanese people about the true and living God, who created the universe, and that He's interested in us all as unique human beings. He wants to have a loving relationship with us, through Jesus Christ, His Son. One Japanese lady told me how she went to England and stayed with a family who took her with them to church. Nothing was really explained to her about God. Yet something stirred within her spirit and after returning to Japan she began seeking after a relationship with God. I wonder if we Christians realise what an awesome privilege it is to know that the God who made the universe wants a relationship with us. Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I want to thank You that You have revealed Yourself to me. Thank You that I can come to You as Your child and simply speak to You, knowing You hear and answer me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Rantoni

De Villiers het vir Kersfees 'n Corn Snake gekry - dit was met my toesteming op die voorwaarde dat ek absoluut niks met die slang te doen sal he nie. Hy kon sy oe nie glo toe hy die slang sien nie; het het vreeslik gehuil! Maar ek moet se, die slang is baie minder moeite as al die ander diere saam! Die liefde wat De Villiers vir slange gehad het toe hy 4 jaar oud was, het net toegeneem - Rantoni is 'n paar maande oud en ons vriende het dit vir hom gekoop.

Vandag was dit baie warm en Ben het Rantoni laat swem... nogal in die swembad - ek moes die foto's neem... bietjie uit fokus want ek moes konsentreer op waar die slang is!

The Knots Prayer

Ek kry vandag hierdie in 'n email en dit herinner my toe aan jou "Can do"-post die ander dag.

Dear God:
Please untie the knots that are in my mind, my heart and my life.
Remove the have nots, the can nots and the do nots that I have in my mind.
Erase the will nots, may nots, might nots that may find a home in my heart.
Release me from the could nots, would nots and should nots that obstruct my life.
And most of all,
Dear God, I ask that you remove from my mind, my heart and my life all of the ‘am nots’ that I have allowed to hold me back, especially the thought that I am not good enough. Amen

Die aarbeie groei kom uit ons tuin en het nie eintlik iets te doen met die gebed nie, maar hulle is so mooi!

Die Tandem

Ons vriende at Kaap toe getrek het, het vir ons 'n tandem persent gegee - hulle het 'n paar Cape Argus wedrenne met hom gedoen en noem hom die Groen Mamba. Ek en Ben het gistermiddag en vanmiddag op hom geklim en om Gonubie gery - dis 13 km. De Villiers het hierdie baie vleiende foto van ons geneem net toe ons hier by die huis afklim! Dis 'n ongelooflike "stress reliever" en as ons 2 al ooit saam moes werk, doen ons dit op die tandem! Om 'n draai te vat is soos om met 'n kar en sleepwa te ry! Dis baie lekker en ek hoop ons kan dit volhou.

Ek's terug

Ek was so lanklaas op die blog dat ek nie weet waar om te begin nie. My roetine was heeltemal uit die vakansie en die feit dat ons op 'n plek was waar geen selfoon-of internet opvangs was nie, het nie die saak beter gemaak nie! Die paar dae in die Grotte in die Baviaanskloof was absoluut ongelooflik. Daar is mens so totaal afgesonder van enige mensgemaakte ding (moenie eers van tegnologie praat nie) en jy voel so naby aan die Here - dit was verfrissend. Hier is 'n paar foto's:

Can do kids

Daar was al baie tye wat Marelie vir my die woorde gesê het "Mamma ek kan nie......." en baie dikwels was ek so gefrustreerd om dit te hoor want ek het geweet dit was iets wat sy wel kan doen. Gister was weer so 'n dag. Die aanpassing hier is en was maar nog steeds swaar - elke dag is vol van sy eie probleme en alhoewel sy redelik goed aangaan is daar maar nog steeds die dae waar ek hierdie woorde hoor. Dit breek elke keer my hart want daar is 'n deel van my hart wat net alle paaie vir haar wil glad maak en elke hindernis wil wegvee en partykeer het ek nie die woorde om te troos nie. Ek lees toe 'n oulike stukkie oor "can do kids" en ek sit vir jou 'n stukkie hier aan.

Our kids need us to believe in them and show it through our words and actions. I was so grateful God gave me such a powerful lesson and promise from His Word to pass on to my child in the midst of a crisis. God wants you to know that you are His can-do kid! You can do whatever He's calling you to do today, because He believes in you and He's with you! He wants to pass that truth on through you, and use you to help your child know that they're a CAN-DO kid, who can do all things through Him who gives us strength!

Dear Lord, help me see beyond who my child is to who he can become in Christ. Show me if there are areas in his life where he is comparing himself to others. Help me notice and nurture his personal strengths and remind him that he can do all things through Christ. I pray you would open the eyes of my heart to learn Your truths in my everyday life and pass them onto my children. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

Die foto bo is van 'n kleeeiiin nuwe poppie wat ek gemaak het. Hy is omtrent 5 cm hoog. Die gesiggie het ek uit klei gemaak en die lyfie lap. Die eier is klei wat ekgeverf en toe gecrackle finish het. Die glasie is 'n klein kershouertjie waarin ek seed beads gegooi het net om die onderkant vd glasie te anker.

Bedtime Stories

Ons het nou die dag saam met Marelie na hierdie fliek gaan kyk. Dis sulke oulike gesinsvermaak! Julle moet vir DeV vat om dit te gaan kyk, ek is seker hy sal dink dis baie snaaks en lekker lag!!

New years prayer

Ek bid hierdie vir jou en vir my vir 2009.

Father in heaven, thank You that You are Sovereign. Thank You that You know me and Anna-Marie. You planned for us to meet You here today. You created our hearts. You know our every need, our deepest desires, and our open wounds. Lord, I ask that in this new year, You would fall afresh on us. Father, You are Holy and call us to be Holy. Yet, we confess that so often our hearts wander from You, our speech does not glorify You, and our actions do not honor You. Soften our hearts to receive the words Your sweet Spirit has to speak to us. Clothe us with humility. Take away our desire to always be right and have our own way. Help us to seek Your Word in all that we say and do. Help us to submit to Your Word; allow it to penetrate those deep places in our hearts that resist change. If necessary, put us through the refiner’s fire to burn off those things that keep us from walking in step with Your character.Give us hearts that love and seek after Truth above all else. Give us wisdom and discernment to reject the lies of this world and the evil one. Guide us into all Truth. Guard our hearts and keep our eyes fixed on You. Grow in us those things that will make us more like You. As we study Your Word, fill us and saturate us with You! Today, Father, we surrender our thoughts, our speech, and our hearts. Thank You that You are Faithful and True. We trust You will do a mighty work in us and through us this year and carry it on to completion until the day we step into eternity with You. Help us to trust in You with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. Help us to acknowledge You in all our ways so that we can hear Your voice as You say, “This is the way, walk in it.” Lord, we love You and thank You that You love us. May our lives be a living testimony of You. We ask this in the powerful and mighty name of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord who will do immeasura bly more than we could ever ask or imagine. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.