A few thoughts

Our commitment to purity often revolves around constant decisions. Should I do this? Is it ok if we just talk? Are these jeans really a little tight? Is it ok if we hug?

All the questions, and the only answers are within our own determination to seek Christ wholeheartedly.

A lot of us, especially girls, somehow seem to lose our balance when a guy hugs us. Should we, should we not?
It’s just a hug. A friendly gesture… and on and on our conscience debates.

There is no right or wrong when it comes to physical (apart from sexual) interaction between the two sexes. However, a definite requirement in our Christian faith is to live a life pleasing to Christ. Our every action should first be approved by His consulting hand.

However, here are a few thoughts that could perhaps get you thinking:

If you had to ask a young, unmarried person whether hugging/embracing is part of sex, they’d tell you no.
But, if you had to ask an older, married person whether hugging/embracing is part of sex, they would most probably tell you yes.
Why? Because it’s part of the package. An embrace is an act of affection, that, in my eyes, cannot be seperated from any act of love.

How then, do we as young people give away part of our marriage package away so freely? Girls want to be loved, therefore we claim it as a friendly gesture. Guys most probably want to stay away from hugs, but allow it anyways as it allows them to be pressed against a girl’s body.

I’m not saying that hugs are wrong. What I’m saying is that we need to ask Christ if our hugs are pleasing and honourable to Him. If not, then stop.

Ask yourself too, if your hugging causes others to stumble, especially the guy. If you’re a guy, it could be the girl.
What is your motive for hugging someone?
What does hugging to do you? Does it let your emotions take a mountain high spin and your thoughts a wayward stroll?
Unfortunately, these are some of the naked truths of casual hugging. It is not pure. You allow yourself to be swept away and your heart is left unguarded.
And if you don’t feel any emotions when experiencing a hug, it’s possible that you’ve numbed yourself to the idea that there’s nothing wrong with it.

Like dating, the Scriptures make no mention of hugging being a sin. However, as I mentioned above, our every deed is accountable to God and we should test everything in His refining fire.

As for me, there will be no hugging guys. I know my weakness. Therefore, when I’m offered a hug from a guy, I proudly proclaim that I keep even my hugs for my future husband.
The more you save before you get married, the more you’ll be able to give and the more you’ll be able to receive.

Whoa, I love the thought of that! Thanks to the grace of Christ.

Listen carefully… :)

A giveaway? … A giveaway!!!

My two good friends at Young Homemakers are celebrating their blog anniversary and in honour of the glorious occasion, are giving away a free copy of the dvd, “The Return of the Daughters”.

If you are a young woman desperately searching for God’s will in your life, striving to please Christ in all areas, then this is for you.

I could tell you how to enter, but I want you to go visit my friends’ blog, so head on over there to enter your name into the giveaway.

Then come back and report for duty. LOL!

Do NOT Rest!

I will not grow weary of serving God.
I will not get tired of shining my light.
I will not rest until I have breathed my last breath in carrying out God’s will.

He has promised to be there for us, to strengthen us, and to grant us the desires which He has laid on our hearts.

Last night in my fatigue, I bent down to pick up a little card on my bedroom floor which appeared from nowhere. (It obviously fell out of a book or something.) It was meant for me, and it was the words I needed to hear.

“You who remind the Lord of His promises – do not rest.”  ~ Isaiah 62:6

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And on a more lighter note, I won’t get tired of being cheerful today. A happy birthday to my brother Ronaldo. You’re getting way too big, way too soon.

Ever seen cute and naughty combined? This ^ is it! Happy birthday little bro...

Mysteries

A number of girls have randomly asked me, “It’s my boyfriend’s birthday soon, what should I buy for him?”  

Have you ever given it some real personal thought?   Hardly any girl really knows what to buy for guys. Why? Because we’ve lost track of the greatest gift that a guy needs from us. Next time you wonder what you should get for a guy, give him the gift of mystery.  
Guys love mysteriousness, and girls who are mysterious probably chart the top of their list, unless their centeredness is roaming outside of Christ. 
 
The continual search, the wonder, and awe after a girl, shouldn’t merely be because of outer beauty, but rather because her heart is so protectively nestled within God’s hands, that a guy has to go to Christ, to be able to find it. Mysteriousness is a godly characteristic, and it implies a life lived in purity. A mysterious girl never plays with her pearl of purity, she never flirts her way to attention, and neither will she let physical affection or an emotional spin, take her focus off her goal. She will never freely hug guys, but will constantly be on guard to protect her soft heart from any danger that might snatch her love away. 
 
And the guys gawk. Do such girls still exist? What’s up with her? Why won’t she let me? 
And he searches. She’s got something, and it’s special. She’s not just your average girl. 
If guys had to be honest with us, in why they would want to pursue us, what would they say? Because we so easily just let our weak hearts melt into their hands, or because, no matter how hard they try to touch our hearts, they only bump their head against God’s mighty hands? 
 
Should we allow our hearts to melt away before they’ve been molded by God, they will be malformed when they land in the hands of the wrong guy. Rather, let the Potter shape us into beautiful vessels, so that our testimony would one day settle all the misunderstood mysteries of romance in the world. 
 
And so too, will we ever guard our God-given gift of mystery, only to let God unfold it at the altar.  So girls and guys, unfold some mystery in your life, today.

Being Christlike

I have often wondered what the term “Christian” means. I could look it up, but as of yet, I haven’t.

Someone once said to me that he’s not yet a Christian because being a Christian means to be like Jesus, and he’s not like Him yet. But he’s trying.

That kind of makes sense, however, even though I myself am not yet like Jesus, and frankly, I’ll never be, because I’m human, I will still humbly call myself a Christian. Here’s why…

I think being a Christian means to be a follower of Christ. Or at least, that’s my rational and realistic interpretation of the term.
However, carrying the name of a Christian requires a lot of responsibility. People will want to see the Christ-likeness in your life. And if you don’t live a Christ-like life, then perhaps you should re-consider your religious name.
As for me: I was a wretched sinner. At times I thought there is no salvation for a person like me. However, God surprised me and He washed my mountain of sins away. I still can’t believe He did it and that I’m really free. It’s too good to be true, but it IS true. He has poured over His beautiful forgiveness and grace over my life and still continues to, and therefore I can humbly call myself a Christian by God’s grace.

I’m striving to become more like Jesus everyday, so that through Jesus’ death on the Cross, I can be more confident in my Christian name.

There are a few examples in the Bible too. Paul wrote to some of the congregations and if I have it correctly, mention is made in the book of Revelation as well, where the church was challenged with their faith and whether they are worthy to be called Christians.

Christ’s name may not be taken in vain, neither can we drag it through the dirt of our sinful life.
I just want God to work in my heart so much that people will see Jesus on my face without a doubt.

Paul challenged the Ephesians, saying they should “live a life worthy of the calling you’ve received”.
Grant me the grace oh God!

Happy birthday to…

my blog! *clap clap clap*

It’s a little belated though, but not too late for a light celebration.

October 2 marked my one year anniversary with wordpress. I love this blog more than any other blog I’ve ever had.
More over, I thank God for giving me the gift to write and in turn use this blog for His glory.
I thank God for all the wonderful people I have met on this blog. I thank God for any way that I could’ve been a blessing to a reader, be it in the slightest way.

May He continue to use this blog, and continue to use me, teach me and guide me as I strive to live a godly and holy life.

Thank you also for those who read my blog and comment. I know some of you don’t comment, but read and reply via email, which is also nice.

Happy birthday blog! Thank you Jesus!

Leaving a legacy

If I had to get chronically sick today, or leave the country, or perhaps even die, what would people say about me?

I’m reminded of common funeral procedures: this cousin, that uncle and a distant relative or friend, all get up to pay tribute to their lost friend and family member. Funerals are filled with beautiful words and highlight all the good works the deceased has done during his/her life.

Now I don’t want to sound morbid by focussing on death and funerals, although it’s a very good thing to think about. Each day should be lived rejoicing in the knowledge that we are one day closer to going home.
The Bible also teaches us to number our days, and in fact, death should be something that we should welcome, whenever it arrives. But we should not hasten it either, God has His time for everything.

But what REALLY matters in life? Is it all those candies we gave to the street kids, or the last piece of bread that’s been lying in the car that we gave to the homeless beggar?
What will people say about us? What do people say about us now?
The truth is, all the talks after our death will be based on the way we live our lives right now.

Deuteronomy 6:6 - 9:
⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

That’s what people need to talk about. That’s what they need to see in us. And if they do, it’s what they will talk about.

Frankly, our pictures can be hanged up in galleries and displayed in award ceremonies, but if the face of our hearts is not written, inscribed and sealed in God’s book of life, we can totally forget about even leaving a legacy behind.

What’s your legacy for today? Build it up, day by day, so that you can store great treasures in heaven one day.

If God wills…

This is probably the most difficult thing to submit to in life: God’s will. However, without it, we would be walking six foot under the ground.

The question is: do we apply God’s will to our lives? Do we grant Him access to every sphere in the vastness of our heart’s universe? Or perhaps rather, the road it too difficult and expensive to travel, so we become like a shooting star, firing away all of God’s reminders, love and convictions.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about a certain concept which has been growing rampant amongst us as young people, and I admit, at times, I myself am guilty of this too.

Let me explain…

We as Christian youth have decided to keep ourselves pure, physically and emotionally so that, when we get married, we may bless our future spouse and bless God by the holy and gloryfying way that we’ve lived. These are after all, God’s commandments for us.

Here’s a common line of thought: I’m keeping myself pure until the day I get married.
Personally, there’s nothing wrong with that way of thinking. However, by saying that, you are assuming that you will get married. Why? Because you’re keeping yourself pure.

We’ve adapted a concept that we will get married someday, and hopefully soon, therefore even more reason to keep ourselves pure.

Marriage is a God-given, natural instinct and desire that is within us. However, not everyone will get married. You will only get married if marriage is within God’s will for your life.
So does that mean that we are commanding marriage from God? Maybe. Maybe not. But our purpose is solely, to find God’s will for our lives, and stay therein. If marriage is within that will, you’ll find it in God’s time.

It’s sad that we’ve given in to an idea that we will all get married, and we keep on wondering when it will be.
This concept has quenched our godly fires, it has stilled our love and desire for God’s work and it keeps on stiffening our knees since we are no longer able to fall down on our knees and cry out to God for His mercy on our lives.

A desire to get married is not wrong. But we should check our attitudes. Do we live today in expectation to get married tomorrow? Or do we live today in anticipation to see God’s will manifested in our lives, today and tomorrow, be it marriage or singleness?

I’m not quite sure if these musings are comprehendable, but I pray they may mean something to someone.

God’s will is part of the ultimate sacrifice, where we give up our everything to gain all of Christ. It’s not merely a commandment we have to obey or a task we have to perform, but rather, as it’s written in 1 Kings 3:5, it should be the deepest desire of our heart. We should beg God to make us restless until His will has been revealed and instilled within our hearts.

God’s will should be our focus today, tomorrow and forever. Marriage is possibly just a by-product of your obedience to God’s will, as He sees the desires of your heart.

Happy Spring Day

Today is the first day of Spring! What a beautiful day in life and in meaning.

For my friends on the northern side of the hemisphere, happy Autumn.

Last year, I wrote a great deal of articles for Purity People on the
meaning of Spring in our lives, especially pertaining to purity. I
really feel like sharing some of it here, but I want to keep you all
in suspense as I hope to write a fresh article on that for Feelin’
Feminine soon. So check in there sometime.

But I still have a few thoughts…

Gosh, life can get hard sometimes. Ever had those days when you just
wish that everything could come to a complete standstill, so that you
can just stop, think and take a deep breath and let out all the tears
inside?
I sure have. God didn’t promise us roses all the time.
Perhaps He did – don’t roses have thorns? (I’ll do some research on
this concept and post about it later. It just suddenly crossed my
mind.)

Last night, I was thinking about the joy I have in my heart. Simply
because I’m a child of God. That’s why I’m joyful. Not happy, but
joyful.
The Christian life doesn’t come with non-stop joy. But I’ve come to
realise that God will give us sufficient strength to get through the
hard times, and what’s what I call real joy.
It’s an inner peace and contentment that God is there, I can always
run to Him, and He WILL come to my aid. He promised us.

But here’s something to think about… are we joyful even in those hard
times? Can you still smile at your little siblings when they’ve just
sucked your headphones for the past 10 minutes? Can you still smile
when your father asks you to feed to animals when you’ve just about
broken your back bending over in getting an energetic 3 year old out
of the bath? Can we still count it all joy when we are laughed and
scoffed at when we tell a young person the ridiculously wonderful
truth that we don’t date? Can we still smile when an
unpleasant-smelling beggar asks you for something to eat, and all you
have is your two sandwiches which you bought with the last few rands
in your purse?

I’ve made a commitment to God that I will strive to be joyful in all
things. It’s not easy, but didn’t God say that we will not be tempted
above what we can bear, because when temptation comes, He will also
give us a way of escape? Very often, the escape route is joy.

2 Samuel 6 is a beautiful illustration of this joy. A number of verses
in the chapter emphasize the joy that David was experiencing and how
he spilt out his joy before the Lord, unashamedly.
There’s too many verses to quote, but do yourself a favour and go and
read that chapter.

Here’s another beautiful thought: along with joy, comes humility. In
verse 20, Michal confronted David and said that his behaviour was
inappropriate before the slave girls. David replied and said that he
will be joyful before the face of the Lord and that he will humble
himself even lower than the slave girls.
This is just so striking for me, and so contradictory. But it’s true,
if you’re humble, you’ll be joyful.

Have you ever noticed how sad proud people are? It’s as if they are
discontent with everything. And we never seem to make the conclusion,
but now, it just hits home to me.

These are just some random thoughts. I didn’t put a lot of effort into
writing this post as I usually do with most of the others, but it’s
just been so heavy on my heart lately.

Being joyful in all things, at all times, and be joyful in humility.
It’s a choice that we make. During the hard times, joy doesn’t come
automatically. No, you choose to be joyful. “I know my feelings are
saying this, but I CHOOSE to be joyful before the Lord.”
Your feelings will always follow your will. If you guide your will be
to joyful, your feelings will follow. It’s hard to believe that, but
it’s a very comforting thought – we can control our feelings.

On that note, I remember that I need to post about something else that
I’ve wanted to write about for some time. Those of you who have
personal contact with me, please remind me. It’s important.

Happy Spring (Autumn) “and whatever day it is on your side of the globe” day!

What if?

I wonder what it feels like a week before you get married? Those of you who are married will be able to offer some insight. I can’t say though, because I’m not in that situation. But…

About two weeks ago, I visited a good friend of mine, for what will probably have been our last sleepover. She got married last week.

It was quite an experience and an excitement, visiting a friend in the height of all her wedding arrangements and her own excitement.

I thought it was classical how she would imagine her future life. Every now and then, she’d say, “next week this time…” and the family would rejoin and say, “next week this time…”.
I can imagine her and her family now saying, “last week this time…”

I love how the Bible compares our relationship with God as a betrothal. When God returnes to fetch us, we will get married. It will be the Great Wedding day.
Just like our earthly marriages, future husbands and wives prepare themselves to a great extent for their big day. Everything has to be in place, no creases and no mishaps.

Here’s the million-dollar question: what if we were to get Married next week?

Ever thought about it?
What would our lives be like this week if we knew our Wedding was next week?
But the truth is, we don’t know when our Wedding will be, and we never will.
But if we did know, would we be able to rejoice and say, “next week this time, I’ll be discovering my heavenly mansion,” or “next week this time, I hope to have met David or Mary”.
Or… will we hastily be busy trying to tie loose ends and figure out who our groom actually is, when we haven’t even considered acquiring our Wedding gown?

Strikingly enough, the day after my friend’s wedding, a dear lady in our church passed away. The next Sunday, a new couple got engaged.
It’s the way life goes, like a cycle. But have we made it habitual, so much so that we don’t actively spend time with God, with His people, with His work to prepare for that Great day?

What are our lives like? If God had to come next week, or even today, are our wedding arrangements taken care of, or will be crying in sheer devastation?

Live your life today, as if it’s your last.

Ronnie’s birthday and a short update!

Howdy everyone! Sorry it’s been a little quiet lately, but it’s just been crazy busy. I don’t want to wind out this post, so I’ll give you a short update on everything.

- Today was Ronnie’s 2nd birthday. He seemed quite happy about it. The party and presents will only come later, when things have calmed down a bit. (Poor guy )
He’s been with us for a year and 7 months now. I thank God for His goodness on Ronnie and us.

- We’ve just completed most of the filming on the 11th Hour Training Course. Prof. Pat McEwen came out from Florida, USA to address the attendees. And what a blessing it was.
The arrangements were hectic, (I’m still struggling with fatigue) but all worth it.
I can’t remember when last I drove so much. Chauffering aunty Pat here and then there.

- Here comes the big shock – I’ve lost my ID, my passport and some other really important documentation and some really precious items. The story of how it got lost, is long. I’ll try and post it later, but to sum it up, I accidentaly threw it away. So, it seems like I’ll have to apply for new ones. I’m still praying for a miracle to happen, but reality counts too.I also contacted the USA Consulate in Durban, since I had a ten year visa to the United States, and they simply told me that I’ll have to re-apply. I’m so bummed. But God knows.

- My health is not in a great state. I’ve been struggling with severe migraine attacks lately, and this has resulted that I need to take daily medication to prevent the attacks. The medication helps, but it doesn’t take it away completely. I’m still worried though, as I wouldn’t like to get addicted. (Wow, really?? :O) So please just pray for that as well. It all comes from being under a lot of stress and just plain tiredness and fatigue. I always thought it was a joke, but it isn’t anymore.

I need to scoot. I’ll be back soon.

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Purity stance

I read an article a few days ago on yahoo news concerning comments and remarks that some guys have made about or towards girls who wear purity rings. I actually expected it to be somewhat positive, but much to my horror it wasn’t. Thankfully, out of the many wonderful comments that guys around the world give to girls, this site only contained 5, which, in its ratio perspective, doesn’t hurt that bad.

Girls, in what ways do you proclaim your message of purity?

Obviously, it should all start in our heart. A change of heart towards God’s idea of love and sex is crucial in our passion to minister to others. Your clothes should proclaim it! And gosh, modest clothes look sooo beautiful! I could die for the stuff.

But then there are others ways to make it very clear to people what we stand for. You can either wear a t-shirt, it can be written on your gorgeous handbag, or you can wear a purity ring. I have a True Love Waits ring, and I absolutely LOVE wearing it. Besides the fact that it makes me feel very special, which it should, it also leaves a message with its viewers. When I was in Colorado a couple of months ago, someone looked at my ring and asked me whether I’m engaged. I giggled, and said no. I then said, “But I am already taken, I just don’t know by whom”.

Nice way of looking at it.

Remember that. You’re not waiting for someone to come and take you. Your prince has already taken you, and one day he’ll come and claim you. I don’t have much respect for the argument that we don’t belong to someone yet, we’re not married yet, we’re still single, and we don’t have any commitments yet, so it doesn’t matter. When the time comes, we’ll do it. The time might be too late. Never let anyone stand on your rights. Never let anyone look down on your youth. And neither did God say that we should be afraid to speak because we are young. It was the opposite.

Guys, in what ways do you proclaim your purity?

Many guys think that if they are gentlemen towards the girls, then they are not practising purity. I get the impression that they are afraid that the girls might think they like them. This could be. But that will depend on your motives guys and the way you treat us. To be honest with you, I have no respect for a man who doesn’t have manners. If I can tell you a secret, guys, don’t think that the girls aren’t watching you, they are. You’re not the only ones watching someone. And one of the things they look at is the way you treat your mother and your sister. I’m a girl, I know.

Young people of today are the ones that will mould the youth of tomorrow. The kind of people they will become is our responsibility. The youth before us failed. What will we do?

Think about it.

Purity People

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this terrific site, go and check it out.

Lest you miss out!

Saving a life

It’s my greatest dream. To make some form of a difference. No matter in which way.

And yet, countless times, I find myself, standing helpless, speechless and completely uninformed.

Seeing a 9month pregnant girl yesterday, who literally lives on the pavement, or on the grass in the park, made me shiver, just thinking of the complications this young lady and her child will have to face. She has nowhere to go, no way of caring for the child, she has nothing!

Another girl, who also regularly visits our coffee shop, has a 7 or 8 month old baby. The mom has TB, her baby is ill, and hungry, and probably doesn’t even know the huge sores and wounds breaking out over his entire body.
The mother has no way of caring for him anymore; she’s come to a point where she cannot go any further. She turns to me for a way out. “I need someone to take my child. Will you do it?”

It is out of sheer desperation for our nation’s survival, and a sincere and earnest cry from the depths of my heart to see lives changed and saved, by Christ, that me and my family has offered to take these children into our home.

Who knows, maybe our home will turn into an orphanage! Wouldn’t that be gorgeous?!

My aching heart…

My heart is aching. Have you ever felt that way, and you can’t change anything?

My friends are leaving. Almost all my friends are college students studying at the education college about 5 minutes away from my office. Because my mom lectures at the same college, some of these girls have become my best friends.

Now, after finishing their degree, and their four years of study, they are going home. Study life is over, work life begins. It’s how things go, and it’s great that way. But saying goodbye isn’t. Simply because I know, most of them, I’ll only see again in 5 months when they come for graduation, whereas I used to see them almost every day. After that, I might not see them for a year or two.

Galina is going back to the USA, Lidia to Romania, and Sue will be going back to George. Pravashnee will be staying on though, as she is will be starting her third year. What a relief. *whew*

I’ll miss lunch times, coffee times, the uncontrollable giggles we used to get at 1 am in the morning, all the crunchy addictions, and the fun times. I’ll miss the times where we would sit and talk about what God has done in our lives.

Friendship is a God-given gift; it can either build you up, or break you down. I thank God for my awesome friends, and I rest in the fact, that even though we’ll be big distances apart, our friendship will remain.

When we all get married in a few years’ time, we can look back and continue to thank God for our friendship. I don’t know about myself, but I sure can’t wait for their weddings. *wink*

But…

Isn’t it even greater, that, knowing that we can’t change situations, but our lives can change other lives and situations? It’s one of the commands that God has given us, to go and be different, and let our light shine.

And as my friends leave, may we never forget to shine our light, no matter where we are and how far apart we are.

Obedience to God

The only requisition for the world to become evil, is for one man not to do good.

One man huh? Ok. So who am I? Am I ‘one man’? Impossible!

In the silence, and throughout the daily noise, I hear a still small voice.

“But Salomé, you are!”

He’s spoken, and it wasn’t the first time. So what to do and where to, from here?

So often, we hear God’s voice, and speaking, but no heed is given. We have a number of excuses. Is it really God speaking? But how on earth should I do that, Lord? What if the voice I’m hearing is deceptive? And on it goes…

You might be reading this, and you know exactly what I’m talking about. You’ve sat in church, and the past two or three Sundays, different ministers have preached upon the same message. Co-incidence? Not so likely, huh?

What do you plan to do about it? You could either; let it continue haunt you, and in turn lose out on the blessing of seeing, possibly, people saved to Jesus Christ, or you listen to Him first off, and experience a peace that transcends all understanding, even if it should mean that no souls are saved.

Being in the will of God is a pre-requisite for the Christian faith. It’s not exactly I’ll-do-it-if-I-can scenario. It’s a command. It brings us to our knees and spurs on a contact with God so intimate; you’d feel you’re flying. It’ll force you to pray like Solomon, not for wealth or health, but for wisdom. And upon this, God replied to him, “Ask of me what I must give you” (italics added)
Ever wondered what is a must-give from God? I can only think of His sweet will.
It should be our innermost desire. So much so, that we ask for it!

May I never ever be disobedient to the will of God. May I be the change He wants to see in this world, through me.

It’s great to be alive!

It’s been a while since I updated here. A lot has happened.

In a nut shell, I’m lucky to be alive. It just so happened that I was in a terrible car accident, but thank the Lord, all four of us in the car survived.

God is just so good. And it’s just so amazing how He’s still in control of things.

I have something I want to share which God has been teaching me a lot lately, but I’ll keep that for a next update.

Until then, keep smiling!

Bloody hands…

I imagine myself, running towards an unwanted battle, and seeing people strewn across the streets, bleeding and gulping for life to hang on. A battle, which could have been prevented, had I been fighting the right way before all this mess started.

Looking down at my hands, I shiver at the sight of the redness drying on my skin, and I try to wipe it off. But it’ll need some hot water.

That’s exactly how I feel. It’s exactly what I’ve been doing. Spilling blood on my hands.

How many times does God ask us to do something? To tell just one person of His great love and mercy?

We are too afraid of our ruining our reputation, or rejection from those so desperately in need, or perhaps, unsure about God’s will.

Young people, by the scores, across the world are aimlessly groping around in dark caves for something to hold on to, lest they fall. We have the ropes, the gear and the skill.

May God help me to get in there, and save those who are falling, or die trying.

Does Africa need God?

Below is part one of a series that I wish to share, taken from a news article. I’d like to use it as an introduction to the necessity for revival in the world today.

As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God. Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa’s biggest problem – the crushing passivity of the people’s mindset.

Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it’s Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I’ve been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I’ve been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

I used to avoid this truth by applauding – as you can – the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It’s a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.

But this doesn’t fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.

First, then, the observation. We had friends who were missionaries, and as a child I stayed often with them; I also stayed, alone with my little brother, in a traditional rural African village. In the city we had working for us Africans who had converted and were strong believers. The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world – a directness in their dealings with others – that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall.

At 24, travelling by land across the continent reinforced this impression. From Algiers to Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic, then right through the Congo to Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, four student friends and I drove our old Land Rover to Nairobi.

We slept under the stars, so it was important as we reached the more populated and lawless parts of the sub-Sahara that every day we find somewhere safe by nightfall. Often near a mission.

Whenever we entered a territory worked by missionaries, we had to acknowledge that something changed in the faces of the people we passed and spoke to: something in their eyes, the way they approached you direct, man-to-man, without looking down or away. They had not become more deferential towards strangers – in some ways less so – but more open.

This time in Malawi it was the same. I met no missionaries. You do not encounter missionaries in the lobbies of expensive hotels discussing development strategy documents, as you do with the big NGOs. But instead I noticed that a handful of the most impressive African members of the Pump Aid team (largely from Zimbabwe) were, privately, strong Christians. “Privately” because the charity is entirely secular and I never heard any of its team so much as mention religion while working in the villages. But I picked up the Christian references in our conversations. One, I saw, was studying a devotional textbook in the car. One, on Sunday, went off to church at dawn for a two-hour service.

Part two to follow…

Does Africa need God? Part 2.

It would suit me to believe that their honesty, diligence and optimism in their work was unconnected with personal faith. Their work was secular, but surely affected by what they were. What they were was, in turn, influenced by a conception of man’s place in the Universe that Christianity had taught.

There’s long been a fashion among Western academic sociologists for placing tribal value systems within a ring fence, beyond critiques founded in our own culture: “theirs” and therefore best for “them”; authentic and of intrinsically equal worth to ours.

I don’t follow this. I observe that tribal belief is no more peaceable than ours; and that it suppresses individuality. People think collectively; first in terms of the community, extended family and tribe. This rural-traditional mindset feeds into the “big man” and gangster politics of the African city: the exaggerated respect for a swaggering leader, and the (literal) inability to understand the whole idea of loyal opposition.

Anxiety – fear of evil spirits, of ancestors, of nature and the wild, of a tribal hierarchy, of quite everyday things – strikes deep into the whole structure of rural African thought. Every man has his place and, call it fear or respect, a great weight grinds down the individual spirit, stunting curiosity. People won’t take the initiative, won’t take things into their own hands or on their own shoulders.

How can I, as someone with a foot in both camps, explain? When the philosophical tourist moves from one world view to another he finds – at the very moment of passing into the new – that he loses the language to describe the landscape to the old. But let me try an example: the answer given by Sir Edmund Hillary to the question: Why climb the mountain? “Because it’s there,” he said.

To the rural African mind, this is an explanation of why one would not climb the mountain. It’s… well, there. Just there. Why interfere? Nothing to be done about it, or with it. Hillary’s further explanation – that nobody else had climbed it – would stand as a second reason for passivity.

Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and unsubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosphical/spiritual framework I’ve just described. It offers something to hold on to to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.

Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the knowhow that accompanies what we call development will make the change. A whole belief system must first be supplanted.

And I’m afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.

You can read the full article here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article5400568.ece

Call for modesty

How many times do we go shopping and we see an outfit that we really like? I mean, it’s cute, it’s feminine and you can just imagine how stunning it will look with that skirt or with this sweater.

You can’t wait to get home and try it on, investigate every inch of the material in front of the mirror with your favourite hat.
But when you do, you notice it’s a little tight, or perhaps a little too low on the neckline. Or perhaps the sleeves yawn open when you lift up your arm. **gasp** What now? I can’t exchange it, there is no bigger size, and was kinda costly.

Suddenly, you go through all the mirror twirls and turns again, finally coming to the conclusion, ‘It’s not that bad. All the other girls in church wear things like this, and some even have exactly the same top. It’s fine, let’s just hope that no one will be offended. Besides, it’s so modest, compared to all the other outfits that some young people wear.”

Have you ever experienced that? I have. There were times when I purchased pieces of clothing that were really modest, in the genuine sense of the word, but when I would wear them, I’d feel like I’m cutting it on the borderline. I would feel uncomfortable when I would walk past a guy and just hope and pray that he doesn’t notice it.

A couple of days ago, I went to my closet and inspected my clothes. I threw out everything that was not pleasing to God. Every outfit that was a borderline case, or something that I would feel uncomfortable to wear in front of certain people. It was easy to look at some and think, “but maybe I can keep this one, I love it so much”. But I didn’t. I obeyed the Spirit’s wooing. I chucked it all out.

The peace that flooded me, was overwhelming. Just knowing that I was obedient to God’s prompting, I could now look at my closet and feel content. I’m not ashamed of one piece of outfit in there. Anyone can come and look and I will not need to hide my face.

Are there pieces of clothing in your closet that are borderline cases? Can you hear the Spirit’s soft whisper? Then answer His call today.

Yes, we are modest. We dress in a way not to let our brothers stumble. But even God’s children need to be continually sanctified.

Girls, don’t frame an idea of modesty for yourself. Rather, go to God and let Him do that for you. Ask Him to show what form of clothing is pleasing to Him.

Last night at our church’s youth meeting, the pastor who led the devotion said, “that which the church has given to the world, it’ll never get back”.
The same applies to our modesty. Once the world steals it from you, you won’t get it back. So ask God to come and do that miraculous work in your life.

Calvary

A certain pastor once said, “I’ve not been in another country, or over the seas, but I have been to Calvary”.

The sounds echo through my mind, “Salomé, you’ve been to the USA, you’ve been to Romania, you’ve been to Cape Town, on the border of Swaziland, here and there… “

But where have we really been? You know, at the end of the day, nothing, but NOTHING in this world will matter. All God will want to know is whether we’ve been to Calvary and met with the Saviour.
Neither the amount of Christian guys or girls we’ve been able to impress or the amount of modest clothes we’ve worn will matter, nor the prayers we’ve sent up to heaven on behalf of all the unbelievers, or the absolutely awesome Christian warrior or warrior-ress (is that a word?) we’ve married, will ever matter on that final day.

You know, I’m not the world’s prettiest girl, nor do I have the greatest looking figure around, but this I know, I too, have been to Calvary. And THAT’S what I want to let matter in my life. To leave every world distraction behind me; the guy I will one day marry, what I look like today, whether my hair is in the right style, or whether I managed to do my gym exercises today to get me closer to that “striving sexy” look.
No, I want to be obsessed with Christ, the Gospel and with His love for me at Calvary.

Can you honestly say that you’ve been to Calvary? Can WE (me included) honestly say that we go to Calvary every day, still? The Christian purification and sanctification message is a daily exercise. And I would rather go the ends of the earth to make sure I’ve completed that exercise today, than to fret over the fact that I’ve not gymned today.

And I pray that God, hearing this, would be merciful to me, because He too knows, this is not an easy life.

Modesty really matters!

I thought I’d continue my post on modesty, since I still had some hanging thoughts on the issue. Now I bet some of you out there, and even perhaps reading this, may think, “What’s it worth? No one notices modesty, so what’s the point? And who knows, maybe my future husband might be from another country, so he won’t even see if I don’t dress totally modest.”

And so the excuses goes on… “It’s so hot. You cannot dress modestly in Africa, because the weather just doesn’t work together, etc etc… “

I know, it’s easy to think like that, especially if we work so hard to be modest and please God, and yet, we don’t receive any reward of form of gratitute in return. And sometimes, it feels like even God doesn’t notice it.
Why does it have to be so hard???

By God’s grace, I’ve been able to prove this theory of thinking wrong.

A couple of weeks ago, I, along with some friends and colleagues, did some ministry work on the streets of Durban. We had just completed a tight, hard stretch of work, speaking to people, challenging their faiths and telling them about the Saviour, giving them hope. We were tired, craving for our scheduled ice cream rewards and could just about fall asleep on the pavement of tiredness.

The beachfront is a common place to hang out. Right next to the Wimpy (where we buy ice cream) is Joe Cool’s, one of Durban’s youths’ most favourite night club. People roam around on the beach until late into the morning hours.

So, ice cream eaten, and thinking about our beds and some glorious sleep, we headed back out. Coming out of Wimpy, we brushed past four young men sitting on the brick rails.

And then… “Oh my word, look how these ladies are dressed!”

*ahem* What… wh… what? What did he just say? Did those guys really just say that? They noticed? WOW!!

And we knew them from absolutely NOwhere. But it was the cherry on my cake of fatigue.

Girls, and guys, modesty DOES matter. One day, even if it should only be in heaven, you’ll find out why. So don’t give up.

Genuine Purity

Ok, I know this is my second post today, but I just received this email which was forwarded to me by my mom. And I couldn’t help but jubilate at the thought that there are other like-minded people out there, who wish to serve God like I do.

There are many of you, and many who’m I’m friends with. I could list you by name here: Aline, Leandro, Luke, Galina, Martus, Micci, Willem… young people who desire to know God.
I may have known you for a long time, or I may have just met you, but let’s continue to strive for God’s highest standard of purity.

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This article was written by Lee Wilson from the Family Dynamic Institute.

Saving Yourself for Marriage

You may think I’m only talking about sex or physical purity. But I’m not. There’s a lot more you can save for your spouse, if that’s what you choose.

I used to struggle with the idea of saving sex for my spouse. I knew it was the right thing to do, but I couldn’t help but think I was missing out. I was, but it would have been only a temporary sacrifice that would have turned into a priceless investment.

Saving sex for your spouse is not the only thing that will pay great dividends. Though sex is a very special and sacred experience between a man and woman who love each other and have committed to each other by marriage, it is not the be all and end all of the male/female relationship. It’s just one important part of several areas that are found in a healthy marriage.

What if the mindset of a single was not just “I’ll save sex for marriage,” but “I’ll save myself” for my future spouse?

How Do You Save Yourself?

Saving yourself, as I define it, means that you save more than just sex. You save other special things like kisses, touches, and “I love you’s.” It may sound far-fetched or even very old-fashioned, but can you imagine the feeling of joy and love you’d have if you knew that your spouse had not even kissed another person? Ever? Or if the first time he/she ever said, “I love you,” it was to you!

Imagine the privilege and honor of having a spouse who didn’t just save sex for you, but saved absolutely everything! You can take this as far as you choose. Maybe you don’t even want to hold another person’s hand before you hold the hand of the one who commits to you for life. Or maybe saving just sex is enough for you. I can’t make your decision. I can’t even speak from the successful “saving” of myself. But I can speak from the experience of being married and being part of an organization that has worked with nearly 100,000 married couples.

I can tell you that if more couples saved everything for each other, many marriage-harming issues would not exist in their relationship. There wouldn’t be haunting memories of past sexual encounters. There wouldn’t be feelings of jealousy towards those who had physical experiences with someone’s husband or wife. There wouldn’t be the mindset that says, “Since I’ve had sex with someone else, what’s the harm in doing it with another someone else?” Or, “Since she’s had sex with someone else, what does it matter if I do, too?”

Perhaps the best part would be the sense of sacredness that saving oneself completely brings to a marriage. She doesn’t have to share him with anyone-past, present or future. And neither does he.

Trust me, people don’t leave marriages like that. Why would they?

I’m not saying it will be easy. In fact, I imagine it will be extremely difficult. But on your marriage night, when you give yourself to your spouse without bringing someone else’s memory with you, you’ll probably consider it to be your greatest accomplishment in life.

If you haven’t saved yourself, start today. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to say that you committed to your spouse even before you met him or her? Or decided to marry? Save as much of yourself as you can.

Remember this rule: The more you save for your spouse, the more you’ll have to give and the more you are able to receive.  It’s worth it. Trust me.

Being a Godly daughter…

You know, before I really had a relationship with the Lord, I used to give my parents such grief. I guess they had their hands stuck in their heads, ready to pluck out every possible loose hair available.

Wow, what a shame.

It’s just so interesting that when I met the Lord, everything changed. All my ways and grief, took a 180º turn. And the world still kinda wonders what the genetic explanation behind teenage rebellion is. Whoa… ok.
The truth is, everyone needs God.

But during one of those devastating times with my parents long ago, my mom approached me one day and said, “Salomé, I’m sorry if I’m not the mom you want. I’ll work on becoming that mom.”

My heart broke. Is this was I was doing to my parents? My mom began to feel unworthy of her calling, which is a total no in the Christian mother’s life.

When God broke through to me, I began to ponder upon this very seriously. The Lord seriously helped me to understand my wrong ways.

Yes, I may not think my mom is the kind of mom I want, but am I the kind of daughter that she wants?

I pray that God will let that question ring through my mind everyday, so that I can be heedful.

But likewise, we often look up and say, “God, why aren’t you the God I want you to be?”
We are dictators. Worse than Stalin, or Hitler and the likes.

But just think about this: are you the child that God wants you to be?

My heavenly father is enough for me, and for you. Why can’t we trust Him more?

Am I the daughter you want me to be Lord?

Thank you Lord!

Today, I drove past my accident site. *shivers*

But as I drove past and saw it all again in my mind, I just sat there quietly and thanked God. He was so good to me.
I still can’t remember all the dainty details that took place that day, and I probably never will, like which side of the road the car came to a standstill on.

But this I know, my God is great. And He has a purpose for my life and for every person that was in the car that day!

Imagine if we had no hope in this life. Nothing to live for. We would be doomed and damned.

That, however, doesn’t mean that we will always come out alive from a wretched car accident, but it does mean that we have something extraordinary awesome to hold on to, and that is everlasting life with God.

I have quite a bit I’d like to blog on, but right now I need to head home. I’m tired.

Ciao-ness!

Migraines and a healthier lifestyle…

For some heriditory reason, I suffer from severe migraine attacks. EW!! :-/

To prevent the attacks, I have to drink medication, daily. If I just skip one day, I suffer, for a few days after that, because I’ve given something in my head a foothold on something. (I’m not an expert on medical terms ) Once everything is back into routine inside my pitiful grey matter again, things are fine… until I forget again.

This means, I’m extremely dependant on the medication. I’ve often cried out to God to help me in some way, as I would hate to be on medication for my whole life.

Have you ever prayed for something, only to receive and answer from God in a totally different way than you had originally expected?

I can testify, especially to the latter.

Firstly, many trials in our life are often attacks from the evil one. If a hard time in your life, or a form of suffering, doesn’t bring you closer to God, then it is not from God. We should see it as an attack from the enemy.

I’ve come to the conclusion that my migraines are. Yes, they are heriditory, meaning I’ve inherited them, and it’s a common problem that runs through our family. But the fact of the matter remains, I truly believe God wants me to bloom and shine for Him, even more so now than ever before, and the devil will not sit still.

Are their any other areas in your and my life where we’ve given a foothold to Satan, and merely just believing that they are part of life’s trials and we should endure them?
Pray and ask God to help you in those areas. Write them down, and bring them all to the Lord. One by one. Ask God to defeat them and the enemy’s hold on your life.

Secondly, I’ve begun a healthier lifestyle, with the help of my dear mom. (I have an awesome mom, btw )
This means: eating healthier, and exercising. I think it is vital that we take good care of the temple that God has lent to us.

So, that’s my 2 cents for the day!

And my secret?: I feel WAYYYY better!

Btw, I’ve been blogging alot lately, have I not?

Prayer

I will never hesitate to say: it truly is intriguing and mystical the way God works.

God has been teaching me some valuable lessons on prayer lately. I always thought I was a good prayer warrior.

Nice thought, huh?

But quite contrary, I’ve been reading “Set Apart Femininity” by Leslie Ludy (and btw, if any of you are itching to get your hands onto some mind-inspiring and life-changing material, do yourself a favour and get this book) where the priority and essentiality of prayer is depicted in such a way, that I felt convicted.

It also just so happened that I read a friend’s blog post on prayer this morning, and I could not, but share my thoughts on the issue as well.

I don’t want to stretch out my words, because my attempt will be feeble.
But God calls us, invites us to pray, unceasingly. He also asks us to bring our petitions to Him, in thankfulness. Furthermore, we are to request answers from God with determination.
For those who ask, to them it shall be given.

Do I ask? Or do I simple ‘mention’ my requests to Him?
I too, like Leslie, was always under the impression that I need to pray for things, and if it’s God’s will, He will come through with it. If not, it just won’t realise.

But did I really ask? Perhaps you are also wondering why your ambitious prayer life feels so frail. Do you press on God’s button hard enough?

It’s not a question of whether God can hear you or not. He definitely can, and in fact, has such a long ear, that He hears your heart’s whisper even before your mouth has been able to utter the words.

But God does require faith. Without faith, our deeds, or any deed for that matter, is completely and totally in vain.

I’ve asked God to revive and rejuvenate my prayer life and the spirit and faith in which I make my petitions known to my King.

Then we will begin to amaze ourselves at the way God smiles down upon us with His replies, and the power which He will transport through our expressions to Him.

Abstinence training talk…

I’m currently preparing for an abstinence training talk which I have to give next week, to a group of 30 company workers in Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape.

This comes as part of Doctor’s for Life International’s long-standing relationship with secular companies in WAP (Workplace AIDS Program) training. The 10 day course is aimed at restoring family values within the work sector and topics such as marital faithfulness, abstinence, substance abuse and moral decline, are covered.

This year is the first course where we will shine one of the spotlights directly on abstinence. (For some reason, I got the honour to do this… )

So… this means, that a new presentation had to be created from scratch. I will raise my pointers here, and I’d appreciate lots of feedback, whether you have a comment to add, or a complaint, or a brand new idea… spit it out.

Please note: the following pointers are NOT my entire speech. However, I will elaborate on each one, and they will involve different activities such as group discussion and self re-evaluation.

• More than 23 million people in Southern Africa are HIV positive. This statistic makes up half of the entire amount of HIV positive people around the globe. Do you want to become yet just another number?
• Soccer world cup – 2010. Have you ever sung the national anthem and felt that thrill of patriotism flow through your veins? How come, when it comes to decisions, you’re not able to control yourself? But instead , you pull your country further to shame by pushing that statistic up by the score.
• Ever heard guys say, “I need to have sex to be a man”? I have news for you; even mice have sex, does that make them men?
  Self control.
• Sex is not love. Rather, sex is a fruit of love. Love is patient, love is kind. (1 Cor 13:4)
• Sex has become the norm, therefore rather redundant and boring. Hint: take a look at 90% of the magazine covers on store shelves; the following should sound familiar:
  - 10 sizzling new sex tips
  - Inside scoop: new ways to make your time in bed more fun
  - What if your partner doesn’t want to make love? Prof. so and so gives advice.
• Take a pen and paper and spell the word “sex”. It’s a reality. We live with it. But it’s up to us how we will accept it. Bringing about a radical and noticeable change in our society will demand a complete change in attitude and thought.
  Btw, what happened to the privacy of the word itself? 50 Years ago, “sex” was not to be mentioned, even in the home. It was respected as the discreet action and deed that took place within the marriage covenant, ordained by God.
• Pre-marital sex is the core reason behind multiple dysfunctionalities (is this a word?) and confusions in the world today:
  - pornography and the addictions thereof
  - unplanned pregnancies
  - therefore, abortions
  - the above leads to complications
  - and psychological trauma
  - then suicide (it’s shocking how many turn to the death exit simply because their partner left them for someone else who has a sexier figure)
  - sky-high divorce rates
  - HIV/AIDS
  - worst of all, GUILT!
  - to name but a few…
• You will try to wash your body a 1000 times, but the dirt and stench will NOT come off. Only God can do this for you.
• According to UNAIDS, the ratio of infections : deaths has settled at a consistent point. This has been interpreted as a drop in infections every year.
  Unfortunately, I beg to differ. The only reason why the infection rate has stabilised is because the amount of people that die every year is equal to the amount of new infections. So sadly, the infection rate continues to climb.
  Get a professor to tell you THAT fact.

Those are just a few. I do feel that it’s important to highlight these  notes to the training attendees, because it might most likely come through to their realisation as real-life situations which they can relate to.

The discussion will be informal, casual and interactive. I do hope too, to crack a joke or two, to lighten up the atmosphere, with my dry ‘du Toit’ humour.

As I mentioned before, I’d LOVE some feedback. Please also pray as I finalise my speech and presentation this week.

Over and out.

Faith…

“Faith is like a raindrop that knows a river but dreams of an ocean” ~ Unknown

Back to PE…

I’m on my way to Durban tonight for an outreach on the streets, then tomorrow evening, back to Port Elizabeth for the second leg of the abstinence training course.

Will give a detailed update upon my return…

Prayers will be appreciated.

Over and out. 8:)

Church…

Now I know I might owe many or at least a few entries… but I’ve just been so amazed at God’s goodness. Many of you might also know that our church burned down last year.

Well, by the Lord’s grace, it has been re-built. I’ve so enjoyed watching the progress of the construction etc. At times, during my lunch hour, I’d head over there, just to sit and watch them build, for a while.

The new church will be inaugurated on the 11th of April. Check for more details here.

What I’m most looking forward to, is singing with the Eurochoir. I’ve longed to sing with this choir for years, and now God granted this desire.

All I’m asking, is that you thank God with me.

Whaaatt??

I was completely startled, almost off my chair, as I read the news alert this morning. What are we allowing this world to become?

Today is international cleavage day.

Whoa. :-O

A particular newspaper gives advice on how to keep the two sisters happy and healthy, and your cleavage is supposed to show their state.

Now look, I’m no professor of any sort, but I think this time round, I’m quite a bit smarter.

Why can’t we have an International Modesty Day? Why can’t we display the pride of our bodies in a Godly way?

Girls, (and guys) the best way we can look after our so-called “cleavage-image” is to keep it closed. Away from danger, away from exposure and anything that could harm it, even if it’s not physically.

I’m not sure how many guys are reading this, but I’m sure that they are probably just as disgusted at the naming of this day as much as I am.
And I bet they will appreciate our respect for our bodies too. God surely didn’t create our bodies to be put on display, what not more than to actually set an entire day apart as a heritage to a selfish cause.
It’s all it is – selfishness.

So my word for the day: go and celebrate this day by showing others what true modesty means.

Lost or lost?

If I should ever try to find a good description for the word ‘lost’, it’d be rather hard. Compared to intriguing words which often sound new to the ear, this one is often passed by, or pushed to the back due to ‘commonness’.

Everyone knows the meaning of the word; it is self-explanatory and does not need any further elaboration.

And yet, it’s still part of the millions of words in the dictionary. It has the same status as any other word.

What if God could be compared to a dictionary, and we were all words that express who we are and what we do, what status would the lost have?

And how can it be that the word ‘lost’ always seems to be lost when it comes down to our God-given responsibility – preaching the Gospel to the – lost?

In the last few years, I’ve had the honour of doing some hands-on ministry work, mingled with the work that I do.

One of the projects that our organization runs is Lifeplace, which is a safe haven for destitute women who have been enslaved in the claws of drugs and prostitution.

Walking down the dark ally ways, choking away the puffs of smoke and the stench of drugs and urine thrown in your face, I see a woman. Her beauty, unbeknownst to her gets ruined by the minute. Who will tell her that there IS a man who loves her, with a love that cannot be compared to any earthly lover? At what point does her beauty turn to ashes and our conscience seared? At what point will we take an active step of faith, and risk our safety, our pride and the possibility of being slapped in the face, just to tell her how beautiful she really is?

At what point in time, do we classify her as simply lost, or one of the beloved lost?

In a recent outreach, I spotted a young girl, surrounded by two men, sitting on the pavement wall. Our group members started conversing with the men, upon which the one left. The other, stubbornly debated his strong Christian faith with us whilst blowing breaths of alcoholic contamination on us.

Then I saw the girl. Lost and afraid. She glanced around fearfully, bracing herself against a possible next blow. A stir in my heart made me move towards her, and I sat next to her and embraced her with my arms.

I started speaking words of hope to her. I told her how beautiful she is, and she’s wasting her life here on the streets. I told her she can end this, there’s no need to wake up tomorrow, wondering how she will make ends meet. There is someone who loves her, and until she realizes that, she will not be fulfilled seeking the pleasure of men.

Tears of hurt ran down her cheeks while she covered her mouth in an attempt to whisper to me so as not to let the man hear. With my ear close to her lips, she opened up her pain. She shared with me how he abuses her, and showed me the scars on her face, her handbag still stained with fresh blood.

She snuggled her head up in my neck, probably the only warmth and love she’s ever felt in a long time. I told her that I’ll come for her, and her eyes lightened up with hope. She begged me not to let her down, and I promised I wouldn’t.

Then the man sent her away.

My heart aches for her, and the many other women who suffer similar pain of hurt and rejection by all they know.

Someone needs to tell them that they ARE indeed a woman, a pretty lady, and NOT an object. Someone needs to tell them how beautiful they are, and that there is a life far better than their own. Someone needs to tell them how lost they are and that Someone has already found them.

Who will it be?

May God help me, that wherever I am, not just on the nightly streets, but even in my own home, that I will be able to uplift His children on His behalf.

Empty hands…

What did Jesus mean when He said, “Go into all the world and make disciples of all men”? What did He mean when He told me to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world?

Or better perhaps, I know He meant it, but what did and does it mean to me from the moment I received the command until our present time?

Sadly, I have to admit that right now, it means more of a disobedience to me than anything else. I tremble at the thought of one day reaching Heaven’s gates, and God looks down and weeps at the sight of my empty hands, stained with drops of blood of lives that I failed to reach out to.

I can’t count the countless times that I walked down a street, wishing I was some sort of giant octopus with a hundred tentacles to curl around guys’ eyes as a shield from the gushing river of immodesty, and the sexual innuendo that both guys and girls have to face. How I wish to be an amplifier on a rooftop, with a message the entire world could hear.

How many times have you, like me, felt led to answer the desperate cries of the youth, but turned a blind eye to it all for the sake of our convenience in our comfort zones?
Would our viewpoint change at the realisation that in fact, the youth are dying within their own comfort zones because we are too scared to leave ours?

It hurts me to know that I may soon sit with a problem of spiritual obesity, because I refuse to feed the starving from my plate. I just feel that as Christians, God gives us so much to be thankful for. Why keep the blessings for ourselves, and through our selfishness, miss out on God’s blessings?

Frankly, the world is sickened by a taste of monotonous sin that just provides short term pleasure. They keep grabbing for more in an attempt to fill the vast emptiness of their lives. They long for a difference. Something that is daring and truthful.

I ask myself this: what would you risk to make a difference?

I can only cry the prayer that keeps forming on my lips – God help me to fulfill this great calling you’ve placed on my life, and may it be soon.

Poverty can be romantic

Simple romance

Recently, I made a post over at Women of Virtues and I spoke about the simplicity of romance. It doesn’t come with conditions and strings attached. And I just wish that young people would realise that.

It’s sad to see young people get married for the wrong reasons, such as, this guy has that type of car, she has this awesome job, and these earthly belongings determine the way we make decisions when it comes to romance. And in this way, romance the way God wanted it to be, has lost its flavour, and its meaning.

So often we try to impress certain people simply because of what status they may have in life. Let’s just be ourselves, stop fretting about who we’re going to get married to one day and focus on God’s will for our lives. He will bring the right person at the right time. We can trust Him for that.

And for anyone who thought that simplicity isn’t romantic, think again.

Picture post

I was looking through some old photos on my computer and decided to bore you with them. I think I tend to write deep posts a lot, and most of them can become a little heavy.

So here’s a little lightness.

The beautiful area I live in.

A typical African look, at least for me.

Angus Buchan rally at the ABSA stadium in Durban

At the rally with the girls from London, and Sandra (left) from Durban.

Oooh, Becky had a grand ol' time. Can't you see? ;P

Over 40 000 people worshipping God.

At the end of a awesome day, we were so tired, and Becky still had energy to try and look shorter!

My younger brother Ronaldo! Ever seen cute and naughty combined? This ^ is it!

Ronaldo and Edward. I took this picture with my cellphone, as I couldn't miss the moment. They climbed into the toy box and posed. Gotta love my little brothers!

That’s it! A whole lot of random pics, but they’re ones I like, so I hope you enjoyed them.

RE: poverty can be romantic

Following a comment on my recent post on romantic poverty, I thought I’d just like to do some additions and subtractions to the entry.

By no means do I suggest that we as women shouldn’t marry rich guys. However, what I was trying to get at is the importance of people’s character, and this should determine our choices rather than status.

If a Godly guy asks you for your hand, and he’s rich, well that’s awesome. Because you know his heart is the right place, and he will be able to teach and guide you closer to God through your relationship, and not closer to his money. (which of course is not a bad thing.)

I just thought I needed to clarify this point, lest some make conclusions that I don’t appreciate girls marrying rich guys. I simply used the theory as a means to explain myself.

But most important of all, is looking forward to and holding dear what God has in store for us. Whether he’s rich, poor, tall, fat or thin, attractive or not – all of that falls out of the equation when God’s will is done. I’m not saying that you should marry a guy simply because it seems to be God’s will even though he’s overweight. No…

What I’m saying is that we should be tuned to God 24/7. Claim back femininity. God will take care of those gorgeous guys of ours as long as we serve God with all our hearts.

Thanks Esther, for your insightful viewpoint. I needed that.

Purity interview…

Last week I was approached by a national news agency, “Die Burger” for a possible interview on my viewpoint on purity and sexual abstinence. This is in preparation for an article that will be published on youth day, 16 June.

Btw, I’m not sure which other countries celebrate youth day, but I’m mighty thankful that South Africa does, because it’s a day where we as Christian young people get to air our views at full volume to the rest of our land.

But back to the interview…
The questions focused on my personal convictions and why I chose to remain pure. Now let me make one thing clear, I’m not proud of my past. I was not a Christian all my life, but I’m eternally grateful to God for saving me.

However, having made those mistakes, it somehow helps me to be stronger, and in turn, give the young people some hope, telling them that I know exactly what they’re going through.

I love it when people ask me about sexual purity, because I just grab hold of my God-given ability to speak and throw out my testimony to them, and due to that, I can proudly say that I’ve made a commitment not to date. I think there are countless creative ways to share with others what God has done in our lives and I sure made use of this one.

So… here are the questions and the answers to the interview. As soon as I hear from the news agency on when and if it will be published, I’ll let you know.

================================================================================

1. Are you sexually active and why/ why not?
2. Are there still young people who believe in sex within the marriage only and who abstain until marriage? Are you one of them?
3. Have you ever been in a relationship with someone who was against with what your standpoint in sex is?
4. How did that work out?
5. Are there groups for young people in the same position as you are whom they can talk to (perhaps groups where people meet, Facebook, mxit and other social chat rooms)?
6. Do you think it is hard for people to abstain from sex?
7. Have you ever come across someone who was raped or sexually abused and wanted to abstain as well?
8. How much pressure do you get from friends, family and colleagues?

================================================================================

During my free time, I spend some time talking and chatting to young people about purity and I think I can relate to many things and issues they go through because I’ve been in exactly the same situations.

Just for some background info to some answers on your questions… I used to have sexual relationships with guys. And in and between that, I would date a lot of guys. This made me feel so cheap, because I would have one guy telling me that he loves me, and three weeks later, he would drop me, like a hot potato. I began to seriously wonder where I was falling short. There has to be a better way, something better. Did God create us young people to go through such heartaches, highs and lows? But the day when I met Christ, and surrendered my life totally to Him, everything changed to gloriousness.

When I look around the world today, hardly anyone gets married anymore, because it’s just so much easier to live together immorally. And those who are married have to face the destructing figures of almost half of our marriages ending in divorce. And I believe that the reason for that is because young people are practicing how to get divorced when they’re still at school. If you cannot keep a relationship in tact and committed when you’re still at school, how will you be able to keep it when you’re married?

Young people should focus on finishing their studies, aiming for their careers and become active in bringing about a change in their societies for the better. That way, when they do get to the age when they are ready for marriage, they will be able to make wiser decisions, and be better husbands/wives and fathers/mothers.

The HIV/AIDS rate will drop and so will the divorce rate.

Let me get to questions, and I’ll add on as I go along…

1. No, I’m not sexually active. I’m abstaining, have been for the past 8 years, and I love it. The reason: a) as I explained above b) I believe that God has created a special man just for me. And the wonder is that I already love him so much, that I’m willing to wait for him. I pray for him everyday. I’m not going to give any part of myself to any other guy, not even a kiss or holding hands. The greatest gift that I can give to him is my purity. Just imagine, when I get married, and I tell him, I waited just for you. I can’t imagine the pain and the trouble we cause ourselves if we don’t wait. How can we enter marriage, a holy commitment when we feel second-hand? How can we get married wondering how our husband or wife will kiss me, will it be like that one, or so and so?
   Having sex with someone is like a bond. And that’s what marriage is supposed to do. It binds you. But we go and bind ourselves to so many people without any commitment and then we wonder why our world is in such a pitiful state.
2. Yes, absolutely there is. And I am one of them. I’m part of a few international groups who have made a pledge to keep themselves pure until marriage. We are also in the process of rising up an organization of young people across the world, called Purity People, whereby we shout out to the world that guys and girls committed to purity of heart, mind and body STILL exist. It’s not something to be ashamed of. Young people are hungry for the message of purity. Many find themselves trapped in a complicated web of relationships of hurt and pain, wishing they knew something better. The aim of Purity People will be to spread this message far and wide so that wounds can be healed and young people can be raised who can lead many generations still to come.
3. Yes, I was. But let me clarify something here… you will always open yourself to sexual temptation as long as you are dating. Even though your relationship is not sexual, it’s almost impossible to keep your mind and your heart pure. So the objective is not to have a relationship and still keep yourself sexually pure, because we will fail miserably, even if it’s just in our thought-life, but rather, we should be passionate about keeping ourselves pure, and if a relationship will keep you from that, then don’t enter it. Don’t date. You can only marry one person, so wait for the right one.
4. Er… we broke up. ))))))))
5. Yes, definitely. I’m not sure about mxit… as there is more evil brooding on mxit than good. But on facebook there definitely are a lot of groups. Eg. True Love Waits, Purity People to name a few… The internet is loaded with information on keeping yourself pure. Young people have all the resources available at the click of their mouse; they just need to turn to the right places.
6. It depends. It can be. But as for me – I have a passion, a goal, an aim and a future husband that drives me to keep myself pure. I also keep myself pure for the sake of those who don’t, so that perhaps by just a glance at my life and my modest behaviour, they might catch a glimpse of purity’s beauty. And when I put everything into that perspective, it’s not hard at all. I have a Father in heaven who cheers me on.
7. Yes. I have often spoken to young people at schools and youth groups, here and abroad, and they come with painful stories of their broken love lives. Some tell me that if only they knew, things could’ve been so different. It’s not easy to tell them that I also wish I knew better, but as from today, we can learn from our past, give it to God to throw into the ocean of “never-has-been” and move forward. We will come out stronger than ever before. There are numerous ways in which young people can express their commitment to purity. Just recently, I designed a dress for a matriculant’s evening gown. She was a child abuse victim, and wanted to share a message of anti-child abuse to everyone at the matric farewell. If you think hard enough, you can come up with some pretty original ideas on how to share your beliefs, and who knows, you might just help someone who feels ripped and torn inside to receive some hope.
8. This is an interesting question… my close family supports me very much, in fact, if it weren’t for them and the teaching my parents instilled in me, I might not be able to testify to purity today. And for the extended family members who don’t yet agree with me, I keep praying for them.
   Friends: this might be a slightly dangerous statement, but the kind of friends you choose will determine the kind of person you are. Like the old saying goes, ‘birds of a feather flock together’. I have chosen friends who share my beliefs, and friends who will encourage me when I get weary. That’s when friends’ true colours are shown. So if we have the wrong friends, then it really only falls back on us. If you do happen to have a good friend who doesn’t share your stance on purity, make sure that your light of chastity shines so bright, that your friend will be driven to conviction and change.

Dealing with regret.

Someone asked me these days: “how do you deal with regret?”

I’m no expert in such matters, or in anything else really, but below is my reply to her.

————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Regret… well… it’s not easy. There are a couple of things which we need to constantly remind ourselves of, and this will help us to overcome and walk through our regret.
But I also think that regret is a good thing, it keeps up humble and it keeps us at Jesus’ feet. It helps us to realise that we sinned, and have fallen short of God’s glory. It makes us hate what we’ve done, and through that, we will think very carefully before sinning again.

Remind yourself of God’s love. He gave His life just for you. And even greater, he cleansed us from our sin. He threw them into the ocean where not even God can remember what they are. Just imagine.

If past sins haunt you, then it’s usually the devil attacking you. He likes to bring old sins back, making you feel dirty and unworthy of God’s love. He will often try to attack you in the areas in your life in which God is working. If God is helping you deal with purity, then the devil will try to make you weak in that area.

The best advice I can give you is to stay very close to Jesus at ALL times. Then remind God of His promises over your life, and tell him that your life belongs to Him now, and your sin is of the past. And once we fix our eyes on Jesus, we can look forward to the goal and strive for it.

Father’s day!

Happy Father’s day!
I could write a long tribute to my dad, but I might miss the mark. Just for your info, my dad is one of the greatest people out there. The reason why I say “one of ” is because there are quite a few really awesome dads out there who make this world a different place, and my dad just happens to be one of them.
Love you dad!

PP’s brand new site kicking off…

For those of you who are definately missing out, Purity People is kicking it off with our brand new website.

w00t!!!! w00t!!!!

So… do yourself a favour, head over there and check out all of the good stuff in time for tomorrow’s youth day celebrations!

The promised land

The promised land…

Ok, so Sunday got me thinking on a lot of issues. We had a wedding at our church, and there were a number of things which our pastor mentioned during the sermon that really stuck with me.

One point he highlighted is that marriage can be compared to a promised land.

Wow… I just never saw it that way.

Psalm 37:3-7

³ Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Wow… those verses just says it all. The focus of Sunday’s sermon was being faithful to that which God has called you to, there where He’s placed you.

Are we faithful? Can God look down at us and say, “I can’t wait till Salomé reaches the promised land!” or will He perhaps have wipe away a tear or two at doubtful thought whether you’ll make it or not?

Youth day

Yesterday was probably the most interesting and eventful youth day I’ve ever experienced.

Sit back and listen to this story of mine…

I got up at 5:30 so that I could still be in my office by 6 to post some articles to the PP website in time for the youth day events, but alas, I struggled to get out of bed. Yes, I know typical me. *rolls eyes* So I ended up only leaving the house at 6:30. Now, the agreement was that I would leave with the TLW group at 6:45. This left 15 minutes to run to my office, send the articles, and run back to the departure point in time to leave with the others from my youth group.

Needless to say, I decided not to risk it. There’s no way that I could even possibly be late and miss the youth day outreach. So I sent a sms to Hennie saying that I’m not going to make it.

Well, I and Robyn ended waiting 15 minutes for the two guys, which was time I could’ve used to post the articles. But yeah, we left at 7:00.

So, this was a 3 and a half hour drive, all the way to Sodwana Bay, close the border of Mozambique. But Themba drove a little speedier than I thought, and for some reason, I got car sick. Yes, I know, it hardly happens, but this time it did. The road was pretty windy (is that how you spell it?) and I just tried to close my eyes, and dig my head into directions so that the nausea feeling would disappear.

We were meant to be there by 10:00. I didn’t even know where we were going. I was under the impression that we were headed to Richard’s Bay, but Salomé followed her eavesdropping directions again instead of asking.

When we reached Sodwana Bay, we waited at the market for about an hour and a half for the pastor to finish all the arrangements. While we all waited, the pastor bought bananas, some vegetables etc. Finally at 12:00 we left to go to the church.

When we arrived, I just saw Zionists all around, and all of them were headed into the same direction. The four of us in the car thought to ourselves, “are we going to be talking to Zionists?” Whoa, I pondered to myself, what an experience this will be.

Much to our surprise, the pastor told us that they whole church has been waiting for us. We were under the impression that we are just here to talk to them about purity. But nope… the stage was all ours.

The service took place in a smallish brick building. All the congregation members were neatly dressed in their white and blue attire and their singing was out of this world. They used two handmade African drums for particular songs, and the rest of the other songs, all the boys would make the beat and rhythm of the songs with their mouths. It was just a beautiful African singing experience. The African people have such a gift for music.

So, after all the speaking, singing, and still speaking, and sitting for four hours, my butt was at sore as can be. I was beginning to eat at the sweets on the table in front of me just to keep my concentrated on what was being said.

The youth were so receptive to our message. That’s the most important part. If we were able to make a difference in just one young person’s life, then it was all worth it.

At 15:00, we had our lunch. Robyn and I were starving (no wonder we nibbled away so many sweets during the service) and they cooked such good food. The women would sit in the kitchen on the floor while all the men sat in the lounge on sofas. Seeing that we were visitors, we were honoured to sit on the sofas as well while we ate. Robyn and I felt a little awkward having to sit amongst all these elderly men while the women and children sat aside on the floor. But yeah, that’s culture differences.

We left at 16:00, and this time, when we stopped at the petrol station, I and Robyn got some drinks and gulped down a nausea tablet each. (Thanks Robs) And after all our trouble, Jan ended up driving along the highway instead of the windy road we took in the morning. Lol…
We got home at 7:30, and I went over to Robs for a while to have something to eat and some good hot milo. Boy, was that good, after a day of no coffee. You can imagine just how I must have struggled with withdrawal symptoms. Haha…

Well, maybe I should end off with the main point… guys and girls, make the most of your youth. The fact that we had an entire public holiday dedicated just for us should entice us to go out there and just shout our values and morals out to the entire world. (I know that youth day was inaugurated for a very different purpose, but today we can use it for a lot of things)

So get out there, be young and be zealous for God!

You’re SOOO beautiful!

Somehow, our culture has sucked away the innocence of us girls. So much focus is put on our outer appearance and how we look to men and people, that God gets shoved right out the back door.

Let’s claim our beauty back. Let’s return to the One who made us women who could never be more beautiful.

Psst… Thanks Kasie.

Windy days

In the last few days/weeks, I’ve been swamped with discussion ideas to blog about. But I simply don’t have the time to write about all of them, I’m sorry.
I would blog every day if I could. At least you know that…

But here’s something I thought I need to write about.
Yesterday, a friend and I were talking about the weather. It’s been rather windy lately, and my friend was saying that perhaps the August winds have made an early arrival.

But here’s the thing… many people wonder why we need to have windy weather. Is that you? It certainly is me, at times.
I mean, windy weather is uncomfortable, an inconvenience at times and just plain rude. (<try wear your favourite fluffy skirt on a windy day…)

But God created the earth and all that is in it in such a marvelous way, that it needs wind.
When the wind comes, it picks up the seeds and distributes it. Then, the rain comes, waters the seeds and so they begin to grow. The summer sun is there to round off a huge part of the process to let it bloom into beauty.
The wind is part of nature’s cycle to let everything happen the way they’re supposed to happen.

If you’re wondering why you’re beautiful daisies didn’t grow this year, it could be because you complained the wind away.
Some trees can’t disperse their seeds themselves, they need the wind to help them release their seeds.

How about seeing it this way?
God also allows seasons in our lives, a cycle to help us reach spiritual maturity. Sometimes He comes and works in the form of a wind, and at times the wind feels so strong. But this way our seeds of good fruit can be spread and distributed to the fertile ground where it is needed. Some of us are like those trees who need to be helped as we hold on to our seeds.

Maybe we all need God’s wind to come and blow through us. The evil seeds will be chucked away, and the good seeds will be planted.
Perhaps we need the wind to push us a little forward, to help us realise that we cannot keep the Gospel to ourselves, we need to let it be distributed.

I’m reminded of something that God taught me a long while back, but still stays with me to this day.

Mark 10:17-23

¹⁷As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’^[d]“

²⁰“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

²¹Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²²At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

I saw this portion of Scripture in this way…
God has given us many gifts, riches and lots of wealth. And these come in the form of kindness, gentleness, along with all the fruit of the Spirit, our talents a good deed.
There are people who are poor, in need of our wealth. Perhaps there was someone who was in need of your smile today, but you held on to your wealth, and due to your selfishness, you were not able to inherit the Kingdom of God today.
What choice will you make tomorrow?

The Christian life is one of sacrifice. The more we lose, the more we gain.
You do NOT need to go and study theology to be able to be useful in God’s vineyard.
No, not at all.
How about just starting by handing our your smile, your kindness, a hug, or sympathy.

Unless we give up our riches, and give them to the poor, we will reach Heaven empty handed.

How can we?

Update…

It’s been a little while since I wrote something here. This has probably been of the craziest months ever.

I’ll give two updates…

Firstly, my best friend is getting engaged.
Aww…
I’ve got such mixed emotions about it. One the one hand, I’m super excited, and exceptionally happy and I feel so blessed on her behalf. It’s soooo beautiful to see two young people brought together by GOD’S hand of love and not their own, who walked the way of purity and are not ashamed to proclaim it. I cannot even begin to describe that beauty. Its wonder is beyond my comprehension.

On the other hand, I’m flooded with a soft touch of sadness. I’m not saying that I wish I could also get married now. No, I’m quite content with my single status and serving God alone right now, but it just feels sad that I’ll be a bit friendless in a short while. No more early morning hour chats, or giggles on the veranda through midnight.
I guess it’s something one needs to adapt to. I don’t have very many good friends who live close by, most of my friends are online buddies.

But I just pray that God would continue to work in my life so that when He feels it’s time for me to tie the knot, I could’t be more ready.

Secondly, I’ve just quit my job.

*gasp* Wh… aaa…tt???

Yup, you heard right.
This was not an easy decision for me. But for a long while now, I’ve been feeling God’s ever present nudge to start being obedient to His will for my life and to stop doing my own thing, no matter how important my work seemed in God’s vineyard.
Sooo… for now, I’ll be at home and doing a couple of things including, but not limited to:

- working with two purity ministries

- finish writing and recording an album

- begin a new ministry

- do some hard core ‘behind-the-scenes’ work on next year’s upcoming Purity conferences

- finish my studies

-write a book

- and much more.

Lord willing, I finish in the office on the 24th, which is Friday, so I guess I have a LOT of stuff to finish before then.

Until then, hope you all have a great week.

Let God use me

I think the perception that a lot of us have is that God can only use us fully when a set of conditions have been met. We expect to be treated like other Christians, our popularity should receive a little flavour in the Church and our position should be somewhat of a favourable kind which will allow us to make more effective changes.

When I realised how selfish I am, I broke down. How can I expect God to use me when I demand to have my unneccesary needs met?

I marvel at the way God uses some extremely ordinary people in some extra-ordinary ways.
Do we complain about the discomforts that come with God’s package? Do we moan about the long hours and little sleep God’s work requires? When will we realise that God does not sleep, and there is no time for loafing around?

This morning, as I was driving to work, I saw a little girl sitting in a wheelchair on the side of the road. She stretched her neck back to see us go by. I have a deep love and compassion for disabled people. People who’m others regard as an inconvenience in society, and a distraction to what really matters.
Didn’t God come for the needy?
Then how come we simply don’t have any hands, feet, time and feelings to help a crippled lady with a dirty ragged dress who only wishes to sit at the edge of the church pew to hear the sermon? Or hug the dirty street kid who has no mother and absolutely no one to buy him a clean nappy?
Why is it so hard to serve God where He places us? Is it so difficult for us to answer the Call?

If God calls you to wash wheelchairs at the old age home, or show love to lonely children by cleaning nappies at your local child care centre, then do it. With all your heart.

I was pondering on the story of Phillip this morning. He served at the table. An ordinary job. But God used him in such a way that the blessings just flowed out of Him. When God wants to use someone, no one can prevent the blessings that flow from such a person’s life. It will be like a ball pushed under water that just keeps popping to the surface.

And God later used Phillip in even more remarkable ways by snatching him away to minister to the Ethiopian. And then selflessly letting Peter and them continue with his ministry back in Jerusalem.

Oh may God hear the desperate cry of my heart.
Use me oh God. Here I am. With no conditions attached. Only one: use me.

Princess or pauper?

Which do you and I settle for? Are we merely satisfied with being a pauperess (if there’s a word like that) or do we strive to be a prince or princess in God’s sight?

How do you deal with past sin?

Obviously, when we come to the Cross, God forgives us. But there are certain consequences that we often have to face as a result of our decisions to sin.
Or satan tries to bring things back, temptations come in forms and angles where you know you have a weak spot. How do you deal with that?

I’ve asked God to help me to do away with sin. To kill it. Brutally.

Yesterday, one of my ex-boyfriends tried to contact me.
Actually, I had just had a shower, and came out as the phone rang. I noticed two missed calls from a weird number. I realised it was an international number, and tried to call back but realised that I had very little credit left on my world call card.

I tried to think who it could be, and found myself praying that the person might call again. Why not? I love getting calls from my international friends.
I sent an sms saying that I’m sorry I missed the call but hope we could talk soon. I wanted to crack my head not knowing who this was.

But then… I looked at the number again, very closely. Why did it look so familiar? That was a Kenya code…

Whaaaaattt??? How DARE you?? Darn it!

Suddenly I realised who it was. I started praying that he wouldn’t call again. I DO NOT want to talk to him.
I wanted to kick myself for even sending the sms and trying to call back. “Get away from me, you wretched satan!!” I groaned.

When past sin tries to re-enter our lives, no matter how faintly, we need to stand on our ground.
Especially when it involves past relationships. It’s finished. Done. Over. No turning back. NEVER. No talk. No messages. The relationship was wrong, outside of God’s will, so it’s O.V.E.R.

I want to strive to be a princess in God’s sight. Because if I’m going to settle for second best, I will miss out on many of God’s blessings that He has for me. I could’ve easily allowed that phone call to take a hold on me, because that’s what the enemy wants, but God was so good. He protected me in what may seem a small way, but He kept me longer in the shower so that I could miss the call.

We serve a great God. And I just realised that every wrong choice we make is because we fail to choose God’s protection and provision. He’s there, but we just reject Him.

Thank you God, for protecting me.

Humour

God sure has a sense of humour.

I’m amazed how God often uses things which seem insignificant, to protect us and for His glory.

I wear a purity ring. Don’t make a mistake. I LOVE this ring. I look after it better than my cell phone or the way I make my bed. It gets treasured with a lot of care.

This past weekend, I was in town with my mother, and on the way, we stopped at a petrol station for a quick visit to the restroom. It was rugby day, everyone was wearing the green and gold shirts and spirits were high. As I parked the car, I noticed three young men right in front of me. The one in particular was really looking at me.
Now, I can tell real quick by the way a guy looks at you what his intentions are. And the looks I got here were of those that you can dump on the ground and trample on, not worth a cent.

My immediate response: ignorance. As I got out of the car, my ring was in perfect view of his sight, and his attitude totally changed.
I can just imagine what went through his mind… “Oh no, she’s married”.

I felt like kissing my ring.

Not only does my ring help to protect me when situations like these pop up, but it’s a testimony to others. Many people have noticed it and asked me about it. God has given me opportunities to defend my faith and speak up for my beliefs.

When I was in the States, a certain person asked me if I’m engaged (after seeing my ring). I told him, “No, but I am already taken. I just don’t know by who!”

Use your imagination and God will do the humour. We serve a God so amazing, we simply can’t keep silent. If words can’t be used, then we resort to other means.

If you don’t yet have a purity ring, and you’ve made a commitment to keep yourself pure, then do yourself a favour and get one. If you don’t know where, I’ll be more than willing to help.

Photography

I’ve been wanting to do this post for a long while now. I have a few other things I want to write about but this one gets first priority now.

I’m calling upon all photography lovers… this post is especially for you. And for those who are not, I hope this entry intrigues you so much that you’ll get ensnared into the wonders and joys of photography!

Attention please! *hands clapping* Everything comes to a halt.

All I need is 5 minutes of your time to click on two links and browse around.

Here, and here…

*dances excitedly*

Now that wasn’t so difficult, was it? ;P

Once you’ve been there, come and share some feedback!