Twas The Month After Christmas...

Twas the month after Christmas and all through the house

Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

 

The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste.

All the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

 

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!

When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).

 

I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;

The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

 

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese

And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

 

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt

And prepared once again to do battle with dirt---

 

I said to myself, as I only can

"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"

 

So--away with the last of the sour cream dip,

Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip

 

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished

Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

 

I won't have a cookie--not even a lick.

I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.

 

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,

I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

 

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore---

But isn't that what January is for?

 

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.

Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

 

Author Unknown

Hahahahaha! Be Blessed!

Isaiah 65:24 Before they call, I will answer.

Time to get a bit more serious…

This beautiful story was written by a doctor who worked in Central Africa

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in
spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature
baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty
keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity
to run an incubator). We also had no special feeding facilities..

Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with
treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for
such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in.
Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She
came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle,
it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates).

'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West,
it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might
be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not
grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.

'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you safely can,
and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts.
Your job is to keep the baby warm..'

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with
any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the
youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them
about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby
warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could
so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old
sister, crying because her mother had died.

During prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual
blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she prayed,
'Send us a hot water bottle today. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as
the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.'

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, 'And
while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little
girl so she'll know You really love her?'

As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I
honestly say 'Amen'? I just did not believe that God could do this.
Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But
there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this
particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I
had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had
never, ever, received a parcel from home.
Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water
bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses'
training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front
door.. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the
porch was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I
could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.
Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We
folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly... Excitement was
mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large
cardboard box.

From the top, I lifted out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes
sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for
the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then
came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of
buns for the weekend.

Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the..... could it really be?

I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water
bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly
believed that He could.

Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying
out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!

'Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small,
beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!
Looking up at me, she asked, 'Can I go over with you and give this
dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves
her?'

'Of course,' I replied!

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my
former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's
prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of
the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months
before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring
it 'that afternoon'.

'Before they call, I will answer.' (Isaiah 65:24)

When you see this blog, say the prayer. That's all you have to do. No
strings attached. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost, but
a lot of rewards. Let's continue praying for one another. This awesome
prayer takes less than a minute.

Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this blog. I ask You
to minister to their spirit. Where there is pain, give them Your peace
and mercy. Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence
to work through them.. Where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I ask
You to give them understanding, guidance, and strength. Where there is
fear, reveal Your love and release to them Your courage. Bless their
finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders and friends
to support and encourage them. Give each of them discernment to
recognize the evil forces around them and reveal to them the power
they have in You to defeat it. I ask You to do these things in Jesus'
name. Amen.

Be Blessed, my friends…

No man!

Argh!!!! I am feeling sooooo irritated today… everything just ticks me off!!  Do you ever get those days? 

 

I overslept a bit, but was luckily woken by an sms from my bff Elouize (thanx!) who is in a timezone 2 hours ahead of me.  In her world people were at work already…  Then daddy just WOULD NOT get up!  So, because he’s running behind schedule, the girls and I get “the grumpy bear” treatment.  Now, I’m not the type of person to take this treatment if I didn’t DESERVE it, so I bite back!  Baby Mia (who will be 2 in March) decides to cry about EVERYTHING, inbetween throwing temper tantrums, so we constantly have to calm her down while packing in lunches.  While I’m desperately trying to get back on track, my eldest Chené brings her overshirt that she wears to paint at school, with a broken strap (she was supposed to bring it last night).  Quickly I try to fix it, while daddy gets more agitated because we’re late and “wasting time”.  Finally in the car, I realise I forgot my USB thingy at home…  My whole LIFE is on that thing!  I’m hopelessly lost without it…  It has a bright red long cord attached to it, especially so that I can see it where ever it might be hiding (because I misplace it constantly!).  I was sure I put it in my handbag last night!  So now I’m a bit peeved at myself because I wrote a blog last night that I wanted to place today.  Now I’ll have to remember to do it again… and you know how I am at remembering things!

 

Then we go to drop of Chené at school.  All is fine until we get to the class.  I chat to the teacher quickly and then realise that she slipped past me into the class… no bye mom… no kiss… I feel so rejected!  So I walk back to the car, feeling rather sorry for myself.  On the way I find that my shoes hurt me – another argh! moment.  So that ticks me off as well…  Back in the car hubby puts on the radio loud and it just grinds me, but I leave it because I know it’s just me being silly.  Drop of Mia at daycare, then off to work.  When I get there, I kick off my shoes.  Aaaa, relief…  Luckily work is a jeans type of environment and the guys regularly see me barefoot. 

 

So then I check the emails and I just get one after the other with stories that make me cry!  I actually want to place one here…  NO MAN!! Stop this now!  I need to focus on work!  So, with the relief of writing this blog, I am hoping that I will now relax and be able to do some filing (whoopdidooo) as today is Friday.  I hope your day is better than mine so far and that you have a wonderful weekend!  Be blessed.

SIRKULEER ASB AAN ALLE OUERS WAT JY KEN!

To my english readers: If you are from SA, you will be able to read the Afrikaans. If not, please use the translate tool to read! This is a very important message to South African parents that I am adding "as is" to my blog!

Hoe nader aan die sokker-wedstryde hoe erger... Wees baie versigtig asseblief!!!!!
SIRKULEER ASB AAN ALLE OUERS WAT JY KEN!
Mammas en Pappas lees asb hierdie!

Hierdie is deel van eposse wat ek ontvang het en waarvan ek julle graag wil bewus maak.

Liewe Melaine
Ek het nie tyd om alles vir jou te verduidelik nie - ons is betrokke in Human Trafficking. Asb. 10 000 kinders word beplan en word reeds gesteel hiervoor. Stuur asb vir jou vriendinne om hulle kinders soos valke dop te hou - dogters EN seuns.
Liefde
Elzaan.
_______________________________
 Hi julle,
 Ek begin regtig bekommer raak hieroor. 2 Weke terug het het 'n man in Mr Price home my nie gesien staan nie en reguit na Emily geloop en aan haar gevat. Ek het hom gevra wat hy doen toe se hy sy is vir hom so mooi en vat weer aan haar, ek het amper 'n beroerte gekry. In die laaste 2 weke het dit 2 keer met haar gebeur, verlede week weer toe sy saam met my ma in Pick 'n Pay was. Ek het ook gehoor dat hulle so aan hulle vat en met die ander hand iets inspuit wat hulle dadelik uitsit!
Lees hier onder, hierdie het regtig gebeur, ons kan glad nie ons kinders alleen los of ons oe van hulle afhou in die winkels nie!
Stuur vir almal aan sodat ons meer oplettend kan wees!
M
_____
 Hannes se broer, Stephan het so 2maande terug binne FNB in Kempton Park gestaan toe hulle 'n dogtertjie van omtrent 3jr oud uit die bank uit gesteel
het. Hulle is verby AL die 'sekuriteit' en kameras uit die sentrum uit sonder dat enige iemand iets gesien of vermoed het. 2ure later was daar nog geen teken van die kind of enige iemand wat iets gesien het nie...
 Dis regtig iets om oor bekommerd te wees!!!!!! ( Lee s hier onder, en dis nog baie nader aan die huis.)
 Groete,
 Nadia

------------------------
 Ek was Vrydag middag (21/11) so net na 14:00 by die Lifestyle Sentrum in Centurion - waar die groot HyperMarket is. Ek het na die speelgoedwinkel(Toy
Zone) daar gegaan vir 'n geskenk vir my dogtertjie se maatjie wat die Saterdag verjaar het.
 My seuntjie(2 jaar) en dogterjie(6 jaar) het agter in die winkel op een van daai Magnetiese skryfborde gestaan en teken. Ek het vorentoe geloop in die
winkel en iets anders gesien, daarna gekyk en toe my dogterjie geroep om ook te kom kyk. Ek het haar toe gevra watter een van die 2 vir 'n geskenk en sy het een gekies. Ek het toe na die betaalpunt geloop voor in die winkel en die present vir die dame gegee om op te lui.
 Ek het vir my dogterjie gevra om solank vir haar boetie te gaan roep - sy het gehardloop en seker 'n minuut later terug gekom en gese sy kry hom nie.
Ek het toe in die winkel begin soek na hom en geroep, maar daar was geen teken van hom nie en hy het ook nie geantwoord nie.
 Net toe het my dogtertjie my geroep dat hy daar voor by haar is. Ek het soontoe geloop en daar was hy by 2 polisiemanne.  Hulle het vir my gese dat hulle hom bo in die sentrum by die Pick n Pay in die geselskap van twee swart mans gekry het en toe hulle gevra wie se kind is dit.

Die 2 mans het toe gese hulle weet nie hy het sommer net saam geloop. Die polisieman het toe my seuntjie opgetel en begin om by elke winkel te vra
terug tot by die speelgoed winkel. Dit alles het in 'n kwessie van 5 minute gebeur!
 My dogterjie het my seuntjie gevra of hy self geloop het en hy het toe geantwoord dat een van die Ooms sy hand gevat het.
 'n Ander vroutjie het my Maandag vertel dat hulle die naweek in Boksburg by 'n sentrum was en hulle het by die Woolworths ingegaan. Haar ma was saam en was moeg en het besluit om buite die winkel op 'n bankjie te gaan sit en wag. Die volgende oomblik sien haar ma 'n blanke man met een van die
dogtertjies(5 jaar oud) by die winkel uit geloop gekom. Haar ma het toe op hom geroep en gevra wat doen hy, waarop hy weg gehardloop het. Intussen het sy agtergekom haar een dogterjie is weg en die sekuriteit gevra om die deure toe te maak - maar die man was alreeds buite.

As dit nie was dat haar ma buite gesit het en wag nie - was hy weg met haar kind!!
Wees asseblief bewus daarvan dat ons kinders teikens is en hou jou kinders die heeltyd onder oe.

Happy Birthday Lee!

I've been sitting here, wondering what to get my friend Lee for her birthday, when it dawned on me… I'm going to start a new trend! I'm really bad with birthday gifts, as I never know what to get the person and have a terrible time making my mind up about anything these days. So I decided to give the one thing I feel confident in giving… a little blog about the birthday person! Today it's Lee-Anne Heil's turn, so here goes…

I met Lee for the first time when I went to her office to collect something for my boss. I work for an aluminium company and Lee's company (she and hubby Mike are the owners, but only after Lee worked her way up to the top!) are one of our suppliers. That first morning I mistakenly took her for the receptionist (ha-ha) since she was in the front office and was a bit peeved because our order wasn't ready for me to collect. To my surprise another lady walked in, who turned out to be the receptionist, and was shown on her mistake by dear Lee who had, with the swift efficiency I got to know from her, sorted me out. I felt rather stupid when I found out she was actually the BOSS… um… ja well… So I phoned her to apologize and we ended up chatting. The next time I went round there, we just connected. It was amazing… I spent 20 minutes in her office, talking as if we'd known each other forever. I have been working for Aluminium Build for 4 years now and that's about how long Lee and Mike have been in our lives. Her two boys are each just older than my two girls, so that works out well too… (this is me with a twinkle in my eye and plans in my head, wink-wink!).

So now let me tell you about the lady… She's one tough cookie, firmly standing her ground in a man's world and working very hard at a future for her and her family. And yet somehow, she still finds time to throw amazing birthday parties for her sons, invite friends over to dinner, care for everyone around her and always has time to give advice to mixed-up friends like me. I have found her to be a friend and confidant of exceptional nature. I only have 3 friends that I have had such an instant connection with – two of them are godparents to my daughters and if I had another one, you can be sure that Lee would get that one!

Though she tries not to show it, I know that she suffered a tremendous loss with the death of her brother a while back due to cancer (I had the privilege to meet him before he passed). She told me once that she was not a very spiritual person (I'm a firm believer), but I told her that she had more faith than she realized. I have seen how she has grown over the past two years and I have found her advice to be rooted in something bigger than herself. Lee is a person who loves to give to others, who frets over her two boys as any mother does, who believes in offering the customers of Alberg Aluminium (her company) the best at all times, who looks so "office like" one day and the next she transforms into a biker chick for the most amazing pics she has taken as a gift to her hubby.

I am taking a page out of her book this year and will be doing more daring and wonderful things, things that will make me enjoy life the way she does. I truly believe that this woman was sent over my path when I really needed her and I am blessed to have her in my life. So from me and my family – Happy birthday Lee! We love you…

I'm back!

Hi all!

It's official... tomorrow is back to work and back to school and back to reality day! So, here's wishing you a wonderful 2010, full of blessings - both financially and spiritually. I'm back on my weekly (hopefully more!) blogging post as of today, so watch this space!

Be blessed! C