Be in NOTHING anxious!

I went through a really tough time for the past few weeks. I had so many things to do, and so little time (right, that’s what they all say...) I started to develop fear and anxiety with regard to certain situations. I am a very controlled and calculated person, sometimes being just plainly a pain in the ass! But here I found myself in the most anxiety stricken state and I did not know how to make it stop. What it comes down to, is that, if I can't be in control of a situation I go banannas! Yes I am a control freak, and I'm not boasting about it, on the contrary! Being the responsible person that I am, I understand the word "dead line", but is seems to me that others are obliviously unaware that such a word actually exists. For me this was not even a situation God would be interested in, so I took it on myself to "save" the world and boy was that a disaster!

In my minds eye I could see God smiling gently at me, and whispering in my ear to go back to my “Ultimate Survival Guide on Earth”. It is really a good book! Very insightful and has answers to any questions you will ever have. So I went and just spent some time with my Heavenly Father, and read an amazing passage from Philippians 4:6 “In NOTHING be anxious; but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let you requests be made known unto God…” Wow He is going to take care of everything and I needn’t be anxious about anything. It is actually a big sin to be fearful or anxious because then, in reality, we are telling God we don’t trust Him. We are telling the Creator of the universe – sorry I don’t trust you!

Think about your fears and anxieties and cast you burdens unto Jesus for He cares for you! Nothing is too big for Him.  Come in the habit of trusting God, no matter what the cost! Ask God to give you the gift of faith - faith isn't something we already have - It is a gift form God! Pray for that gift daily!

And if fear and anxiety strikes out of the blue, turn to nature to see how God cares for His creation, aren't we worth much more to Him?

May the peace of God, that surpasses all understanding be with you today, tomorrow and ALWAYS!

IN NOTHING BE ANXIOUS, BUT GO INTO GODS PERFECT REST!

                                          Shalom

Friendship

I read an article by one of my dearest friends Claire Pienaar. She is an editor of a local magazine. I read her touching editors note. It was about love. What it came down to, was that it is easy for us to love things that are nice and fun and cute, but what growth of character is there when we only indulge in the sweet stuff in life. Sincere Godly love manifests when you are offended or wrongly accused and to, in spite of yourself, still love that person who wronged you.

To add on to her article, there are so many things I love too. I love my awesome husband, I love my cute dog...I love my dearest sister, I love my darling mother and I love my steadfast father. I love to feel safe and comfortable. I love to go shopping (I think I've make my point!). But then Claire made a further radical statement, saying that love is a CHOICE! Ok so does it mean that I must love the person who irritates me? Yes. Does that mean no matter what mean stuff someone can say to me, I must still love them? Yes. But why???? Because it is a commandment straight from God - no buts or if's. It is a tall order! But then that scripture comes to mind where Jesus is preaching the good news and says, if someone slaps you on the one cheek, turn the other one. But why God? "Because my child I'm not interested in your COMFORT, I'm interested in your CHACTER" Wow, what an amazing thought, anyone who is rude or nasty of unjust toward me, must be seen as tests and hurdles to overcome, so that I can be blameless and pure before the King of Kings.

Go today and make a friend of a stranger and pour out Gods love in your heart! Love always in spite of and not because of!



Alecia

What do you make...

TO EVERY PERSON WHO EVER WONDERED WHAT TEACHERS MAKE...

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued: "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminded the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about teachers: "Those who can...do. Those who can't...teach."

To corroborate, he said to another guest: "You're a teacher, Susan," he said. "Be honest. What do you make?"

Susan, who had a reputation of honesty and frankness, replied, "You want to know what I make?"
"I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could."
“I make kids believe in themselves when no one else will.”
"I make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor and an A- feel like a slap in the face if the student did not do his or her very best."
"I make parents tremble in fear when I call home"
"You want to know what I make?
"I make kids wonder."
"I make them question."
"I make them criticize."
"I make them apologize and mean it."
"I make them write."
"I make them read, read, read."
"I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, and definitely beautiful over and over and over again, until they will never misspell either one of those words again."
"I make them show all their work in math and hide it all on their final drafts in English."
"I make them understand that if you have a dream, then follow it...and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make or what you do, you pay them no attention."
"You want to know what I make?!I make a difference."
"What about you?"

Abiding in the vine

My husband and I recently went to the Ushaka marine world in Durban. What an experience! I have never seen so many interesting little creatures drenched in such beautiful colours. We also went to a Seal and Dolphin show, and that was the cherry on top. The animals are so obedient and disciplined. By a single hand signal from the trainers, they perform the most amazing tricks and stunts. I was amazed. Sitting on the pavilion, watching these animals with awe, a verse in in the book of James came to mind that said, you can train any type of animal, but you cannot train the tongue. Involuntary I asked God how is it possible for me to be able to control my tongue, if it is impossible to train! I looked at these big trained animals, compared to my small tongue and felt discouraged. As we were heading back to Pretoria, I sat in the airplane, still thinking of my “untrainable” tongue,  feeling quite discouraged. I opened up my bible at John 15:4 it said the following: “Abide in me…” I had my answer! Yes my tongue cannot be trained – especially not by myself, but if I were to abide in Christ, He will take care of the rest. I read further “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will and it shall be done unto you.” Wow! There is hope after all. I realized that we need to surrender everything to God! And I mean everything! I have to surrender my old sinful nature to God, I have to surrender my tongue, my heart and my mind to Him…I need to become less so that He can become more. Point is, we need to abide in Him, then we can ask whatever we want in His name and we WILL receive it.

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because your trust is in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Greetings till next time