Sadness that breaks a heart

 I lost another friend to COVID today... and it hurts like hell.

These past two years have been the most rollercoaster my life has ever been.  Nothing is like is was before and the worst of it is that my kids' lives have gone into a "pause" effect.  Just before we went into lockdown in March 2020 here in South Africa, my husband and I both got VERY sick, to the point that I thought he was going to die.  My boss had been overseas and had come back sick and infected our whole office.  At that stage Covid was only a rumor, the doctors didn't even know the symptoms so we didn't realize that this was in fact what we were ill from.  I'd never been that sick in my life.  My fears though, were for my kids and my father who were also living in the house.  Luckily we mostly kept away from them, but I still had to go to work every day, as sick as I was.  By the grace of God we both recovered, even after hubby's fever spiked for 5 days and he landed in hospital on a drip that broke the fever.  We were not even fully recovered yet when the country went into full lockdown 2 weeks later.

2020 Lockdown was heaven for me.  I'd been feeling so drained at work, especially after being ill, and now I was able to work from home, in a calm environment, knowing my family was safe and cared for.  Being an extrovert, I found the first month without people contact rather hard, but soon settled into the whole Zoom and whatsapp groups thing.  Not to blow my own horn, but I thrived.  I got more work done at home, got to spend quality time with my family and worked on my sidelines that had been laying dormant for years.  Even during this first wave, as we heard of people dyeing, we had not lost any family or friends, so the impact was less.

A few months later the companies started retrenching their workers, and I too went this route.  I was lucky to have a pension fund to fall back on, so I helped my husband build his business and worked on my sidelines.  By now the kids were going back to school - something I feared with every bone of my body.  I'd kept my babies safe from this thing for so long and now the government was exposing them to my fears without me being able to do anything about it.  It took many a prayer session to get me to the point of accepting my youngest's having to go back (my eldest homeschooled) and to my surprise it went very well.  By now we were going through wave 2 of Covid... and suddenly I lost my first friend.  I'd chatted to her via Whatsapp just two days before, surprised to hear she was in hospital as I didn't even know she was sick.  Two days later I got the call and my world pivoted.  My first Covid loss.

2021 came out swinging and I absolutely hate this year. My kids have no kid-experiences, masks cover our smiles and we fear being near other people. People are suffering due to loss of incomes.  As I write this we are stuck in the third wave of Covid here and it feels like this one is coming after us with everything its got.  I've lost 3 friends in 2 weeks and have one more currently in the ICU.  My eyes are sore from crying and my knees are calloused from praying.  I don't have the words anymore.  It feels like we are loosing this battle.  Yet, many more have recovered than have died and for that I know that God is listening.  My heart is just so sore for the ones I am loosing and once again I have a fear for my own family's safety, because now even the kids are getting it.

I pray, wherever you are, that the Lord will keep you safe from this thing.  But most of all... make sure you are right with God, now, before anything bad happens.  

Stay safe

 

Paying my dues...

I must be the only person I know who absolutely loves to pay my bills... I get a thrill from it! Let me explain why:

7 years ago we were on the verge of loosing our business, living on 2 minute noodles and sitting in the dark to save electricity. 6 years ago we'd lost the business and been burgled of our last valuables. I have no gold jewelry left except for what I was wearing that day. We lost all our dignity then. We started over, with nothing but my halfday position for income and my mom's living room floor as a place to stay. Mom helped to get us on our feet, by not charging us rent. GOD send me friends who helped me learn how to cope with creditors and what my rights were and He taught me the value of a budget.

In 6 years He took us from nothing, to something, restoring what we lost and giving us extra! I've gone from halfday to fullday, my husband found work and is now a manager. My youngest doesn't remember the tough times so much, but my eldest does, so she attaches value to the things in her life. We value our time together as a family, because when we had nothing, we had each other. So with each debt we faithfully repaid, our credit got restored to the point where people are OFFERING us credit (we don't take it, though). Learning the difference between wants and needs has been a great lesson... and one of the best I've learned.

So I love paying my bills, because it means I have credit again, I am not afraid anymore, and we can supply in our family's needs. I bless my husband Herman for working so hard by my side all these years, to get us back here. But I PRAISE GOD for all that He's done and taught us these past 6 years. And then He ends my 2018

year with my dream of my own stage production. 

He's a GOOD, GOOD FATHER.  Be blessed!

The start of a dream...

It all started with a book... a very cute children's book to be exact.  

Three years ago I took my kids to the library to take out books to read at home.  My little one Mia chose a book called Maisey and the Pirates - the ghost ship, by UK author Sam Walshaw.  To be truthful, it was the Afrikaans translated version of the book, but for purposes of this blog, I will refer to the English version. That night she asked me to read the book to her at bed time and being the actress-mom I am, I of course did it with silly voices and lots of gestures and weird faces.

She laughed herself silly the whole way through and I had to repeat the process for two more nights.

By night three I was sitting with the book on my lap, looking at it and thinking "this would make a great children's theater show".  So I did something very scary for me... I looked up the author and actually CONTACTED her through her webpage, explained who I was, that I was involved in amateur theater in South Africa and that I would love to develop the book into a show.

For three months I heard nothing, so I basically gave up on the idea and kept myself busy as stage manager for an amateur theater company in our area.  Until one day when I opened up my emails and found a mail from the author Sam's publisher, Stuart Trotter from Rockpool Children's Books.  They LOVED my idea and had never even thought that such a thing could be done and gave me permission to go ahead, promising their support all the way.  I was ecstatic!  And then I realized my dilemma... I had no theater group to do the show with and no money to fund it.

They say man plans but God decides, and in my case He had decided that it was time that I realized my life-long dream of running a children's theater group.  So I contacted a few lady drama friends I'd gotten to know through various previous productions I'd worked on and asked them to come to my house for an idea I wanted to pitch to them.  On 16 April 2016, I told the founding members of what would become Drama Queen Productions about my dream of a Children's Theater company, which would also be a children's ministry group, and that I had gotten the rights to the books (there were 4 in total) from the author.  They all wanted to join me in this mad endeavor and so we founded our group.  We all agreed that our focus would be drama, music and puppetry for kids aged 3 to 14, to bring them the life giving message of God's word.  Along with this, we would work towards staging the books by Sam.

Choosing a name for the group was a challenge... nothing felt right to me.  We all suggested various ones, until I remembered a birthday card I once got, saying "happy birthday Drama Queen".  And it just... clicked.  More than just being drama queens in life, we made the attachment to the name that we were daughters of a most high God, our King, and that we used drama as our medium to spread our message to kids.

And so we were officially Drama Queen Productions... on our way to greatness!  I have so much more to tell you about our group, so more blogs about my queens will follow soon.

Love thy neighbor...

Last night my next door neighbor played music so loud that it was rattling my window frames... at 8 pm at night.  In my innocence, I sent her a message asking if they could possibly turn the music down just a bit, for the sake of my windows.  Thinking her a Christian woman like me, I was confident she would be a good neighbor.

I was wrong.

The response I got was that the music was turned off completely and when I sent a note to say that it wasn't necessary, I got a rather nasty reply back from her, coupled with being blocked on Whatsapp.  This completely threw me and I've been struggling to "get over it" since last night.

How can someone that gave them self out to me, on the day we formally met, as a Christian, be so vindictive and mean to a neighbor?  The hurt I felt made me look for solace in my Bible and I found a few verses on the subject of neighbors that told me:

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.  Matthew 7:12
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Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. Romans 15:2

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Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:10 

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Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. Romans 14:13

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Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  Colossians 3:13

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The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:31

If you are a true Christian, our first thought should not be one of spite, but of being a good neighbor, as the Bible clearly instructs us to do.  Hubby and I've always tried to be good neighbors, yet thinking back, I've never had good neighbors anywhere we've lived as a married couple, who've treated us the same way.  Why is this?  Do people mistrust each other so much, that we cannot even be kind to the person living next to us who has to take our loud music late at night?  Life has changed so much... I didn't grow up knowing neighbors like this.  Our neighbors as kids were like family... we were constantly in each other's houses, laughing and playing together, got scolded by each other's parents, helped each other out in need and are still friends today, all grown up.

I struggle with small things like neighborly conflicts affecting my life.  I don't like people not liking me, ever.  I try so hard to please others, that it has taken quite a physical toll on me.  My eldest seems to be the same and can get affected by people's responses the same way I do, while my husband has this way of just letting things roll off his shoulders - something I envy and wish I could do too.

Every time I get upset like this, I mull it over and over in my head, making it even worse.  I don't sleep well and I grind my teeth badly, to the point where I am currently sitting with an abscess and am going for a root canal today.  I am praying so hard every day that this will be the year that God will deliver me from this evil and make me a happy person again.

So to you, my neighbor who so clearly needs to hear the Word more in your life - I forgive you for your response to my simple request.  I will keep on greeting you and if you don't greet me back, I will pray for you.  But I will not be defined by your response to my request - to be a good neighbor, as God expects us to be.  Some day you too will learn this lesson:

Smiling while you are breaking inside...

Anxiety... 

Depression...

...words I never really knew existed until I grew up.  They must have had other  names when I was small, names that were said in hushed tones and with rolling eyes by my family members about my mother.

When I was small, I knew her as a wonderful, fun, playfull stay at home mother who was always there for us.  Then our life took a bad turn with dad's bad business decisions and she had to go back to teaching, to try to save our house. I remember seeing my mother "break down" and cry for days when things got too much for her to bear.  Crying, sleeping, eating (not much), going to work, repeat.  I couldn't understand why she cried so much, why the efforts we in our childish minds were doing to make her feel better, did not help at all.  Nothing helped.  She would not speak to us, shut herself in her room and just cried.  The crying led to anxiety attacks, which triggered her epileptic attacks.  It was not a good thing for a child to see their parent in so much heartache and spiritual pain.

And in spite of all she did, we still lost it all and had to start over.  She had to be strong again, keep the crying for another day.

Then I grew up.  And life started hitting me from all sides and I started understanding the feeling of just crying and crying and crying, because the pain inside was just... too much.

Now they give it names... clinically depressed, post natal depression, anxiety, etc, etc.  Yet no pill can cure what I feel inside.  I can be in a room full of people and still feel lonely.  I have a wonderful husband, yet I feel unloved.  I do well in work and play, yet constantly feel like a big failure.  I am not a happy person, at all, yet I have nothing to be unhappy about. I never feel good enough and no one ever tells me that I AM good enough, strong enough, brave enough, mother enough, wife enough.  Why don't they tell me so I can feel better?

So what do I do?  I cry... and cry... and cry... and then pick myself up as my mother did, and hope the constant hurt in my heart will lift some day.  Surely it MUST go away someday?  I feel like I'm only existing... never LIVING! I'm always the one with the sparkling personality, a quick joke and a smile that never reaches my eyes...

I've sat with pills in my hand so many times, just wanting to go to sleep and not wake up again... but never had the guts to actually do it.  I'm a Christian.  That would be like murder in God's eyes.  But why then does He let me feel like this?  Constantly sad, crying, but having to put up a smiling face and interact with people every day, when all I want to do is cover my head and stay in bed.

Anxiety... a horrible, terrible thing.  I hate you!  Depression - just leave me alone!  I need my life back. I need time for myself, to rest and do things I love, to smell the roses, to sit with a good book and a cup of coffee.

So life... Just back off, will you? I need time to heal.

The cry of a mother...

Mothers have an unfair advantage with the Lord. In Luke 7, Jesus observed a huge funeral procession in Nain. The entire town was present. He observed the young men and women weeping. He observed the pastors and apostles weeping. He observed the elders weeping. He observed the fathers weeping. He observed the children weeping. He observed the sadness on people's faces. Nothing seemed to move Him, until HE SAW THE MOTHER. The bible says He had compassion when He saw her and immediately raised her boy from the dead.

(Luke 7:12-15). It was the cry of a mother that moved the Heart of God.

Still today, Mothers who cry before the Lord for their families, for their marriages, for their homes move the Heart of God. When Mothers stop praying their families (especially their children) perish. Satan gets a foothold and starts to destroy the home, yet when they return to their rightful place as the anchor of the home, demonic strongholds get demolished.

In Psalms 17, 36, 57, 63, and 91 God's role is likening to that of a Mother. As a Mother protects, upholds and defends her children, so does God also protect us under the shadow of His Wings. We find refuge there and can hide there until the danger is over. A mother's role is so vital that a father cannot get his prayers answered if he dishonours/ disrespects her.

(1Peter 3:7). Because, of this favour over mothers, they are also the most attacked persons in the home. The devil is terrified of Mothers (the powerhouse in the home). Yet the Lord has put inside Mothers grace and resilience to overcome any situation. Today, As the woman of the home, consider yourself blessed.

Consider yourself highly favoured and consider yourself dangerous when you pray.  Be Blessed!!

Competition time!

 

So the Bellas are having the most awesome competition:  We are looking for a Charity Ambassador.  Wow.  I wish I was 18 again so I could enter...  and fit into those clothes again, haha!   For once it’s not all about looks and bodies... it’s about how you help your neighbour.  This is one of this things that I love most about Bella Donna:  Yes we teach etiquette and style and make-up and all that jazz... but we also teach social responsibility. 

 

So many young girls out there have no idea what kind of an impact they could have on their environment if they just took 1 hour a week to do something worthwhile.  There are so many shelters (animal and human) out there that could do with some help, so many people who need clothing, so many elderly who would love someone to just visit them.  Yet we never seem to have the time.  I for one am looking forward to doing some of the social stuff with the entrants from my area.  I want to really be there for them and to encourage them every step of the way.  And if one of mine wins... well, even better!

 

The prizes are beyond this world and include photography shoots, pamper sessions, a weekend getaway, a house party, money, a limousine ride, facial products... to many to mention!  But mostly, she will be standing for a good cause and be our Bella Girl, our face.  I get exited just thinking about it!  The crowning evening promises to be a gala event, with celebrities, music, lights and evening gowns.  Every girls dream!

       

So why not enter?  Come on, you have nothing to loose!  And so much to gain...  For once this is a chance for the girl in the corner to strut her stuff, show her skills en be reckoned, without having to worry about beauty or the perfect body.

 

Go see what it’s all about on our website at www.belladonnaclasses.com – NOW!!

Bella Donna Classes Brackenfell Branch had our certificate evening!

On the 22nd of July 2011 my Brackenfell branch had our certificate evening and fashion show for our first class. What an affair! It was a no-holding-back, glitz-and-glam evening... Held in a factory! Jip, you read right, a factory. It took some hard work from my team (hubby, dad, friends, myself and of course the girls' tables) to turn it from drab to fab in a day, but miracles do happen!

Of course we had some hiccups: Trying to find a caterer to fit our budget was impossible, so my husband Herman's rep at his business, Lucinda, offered to help with the food by making lasagne and salad. My dad made butternut soup for the first time in his life, while Lucinda's daughter Chanel made her famous Malva pudding for desert. None of our sound stuff wanted to work together, so we phoned Mandy from HQ who helped us out with sound AND lights. Two of the girls (sisters) had to pull out at the last minute, leaving me scrambling to find 2 models to replace them and having to cut on costs due to less ticket sales. Then, as I was soaking in the bath (my thinking space) the Thursday before the show, it hit me: the Bellas of the future! My own 2 little girls, Chené (7) and Mia-Mari (3) could stand in for them. Obviously the clothes wouldn't fit, but mommy made a plan, while my friends bought tickets to help me out!

On Friday night the girls arrived around 5 pm to set up their tables and be taken through their steps again by model master Kevin, before being beautified by our team. My friend Lana played hostess and saw to the guests, while I still got dressed upstairs. After the welcome to all, we were ready to begin! The girls entertained their own guests at their tables while the starter was served. After the starter, they went to get dressed in their fashion show best, while I chatted to the guests about our sponsors and the girls themselves. All during our evening the girls were judged by phantom judges on some of the things they were taught, as we had some wonderful sponsored prizes for them. And then the show began. We had a range from Chanel Sauerman from Revival Style as the girls’ first outfits, then cocktail dresses, then the most beautiful evening gowns – both sponsored by The Princess Project. The girls wore masks for the evening gowns, taking them off after making their first turn on the runway – symbolizing that they are not the same person they were before the classes. The masks were repeated in our décor on the tables as well.

Once the show was done, we had our main meal and then the prize giving. After thanking all my special helpers, we announced the winners in each category. The girls had WOWed the guests and quite a few sisters / cousins / friends were VERY jealous and made sure to take a pamphlet! Pudding was served and people chatted away for a while afterwards. It seemed as if people had fun, as it ended off an hour later than I had anticipated – despite everything running (roughly) on time! I was so proud of my girls and it took all I had not to cry. We were also very honored to have Mandy and Marilet from head office there to share in the evening.

The evening was a resounding success, thanks to everyone’s hard work. We were truly blessed by so many people and I would like to mention them now:

- Mike from Fox & Brink in Epping, for organizing us a donation of fresh veggies towards our food costs.

- Graham Ross for the use of his sound equipment after ours failed.

- My husband Herman, for his help, support and doing our sound at the show.

- My dad Henry, being everywhere I needed him.

- My friend and ex-marketer Lana Smit, for all her help.

- Trudie Kotze, for lending us her heating plate for the food and her gas heater for the cold factory.

- Lucinda Moses, for stepping in and making our fabulous food.

- Suzaan Saayman (my sister) and Amelia Kotze for doing our ladies' fabulous hair.

- Tanja Williams and Louisa Marais for the professional make-up they did on our girls.

- Chanel Sauerman from Revival Style for supplying us with part of her fashion range for our show.

- The Princess Project, who sponsored the ladies' cocktail and evening gowns. They are a non-profit organization who supply underprivileged ladies with gowns and accessories for their functions, at no cost.

- Janine and Wikkie van Rooyen from the mR 5 stores for sponsoring so much of our décor of the evening, as well as the table arrangements on my tables, made by Janine herself.

Our prize sponsors were:

Connie Prinsloo from Connique Jewellery, who sponsored this beautiful set for our best hostess winner, Ané. As Connie says herself, her work is ’A Personal Statement of Elegance and Charm’. Please visit her facebook page to see more of her work - It truly is a work of art!

http://www.facebook.com/ConniqueJewellery

Wikkie and Janine van Rooyen from the mR 5 Stores, who sponsored the prize for the best table winner Louise – a gift voucher to shop at their stores! From personal experience, I know that she will have too much to choose from… See their FB page here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/MR-5-store/117131251671049

From Natacha Wadsworth of Natacha Wadsworth Photograpy, who sponsored a free photography session for our model winner, Heather. Knowing Natacha since our school days, I’m sure she will make our girl look pure BELLA! Can’t wait to see those pics… See her website here:

http://www.natachawadsworth.co.za/

Please check out our photos of the evening on the Bella Donna Group Page on Facebook – there are some really nice pictures there. Once again, a warm thank you to everyone involved. To my girls – you were gorgeous, really Bella-esque… I will miss you!

Changing life’s lanes...

I was driving along, on my way to work one morning a few weeks back, when I got the idea for this blog.  You see, I have bad eyesight - and because of this I hate driving in peak hour traffic.  My reaction time is too slow to be effective and I’m always too scared or too slow to take a gap if one pops up.  My husband Herman on the other hand is a terrific driver, gap-taker and general manoeuvring-his-way-through-peak-traffic-fast-and-efficient-and-without-dents-to-the-car-person. So I prefer to be driven around, instead of driving myself around - not that he LETS me drive when he's with me!

Anyway, what was my point here? Oh yes...  Being a person afraid of taking gaps, also seems to make me generally terrified of taking risks of any kind.  But this morning, as I sat waiting for the line to move, I saw a guy take the gap and get ahead of the rest of us scardy-cats...  And something inside me just said 'I want to do that!  I want to take the gaps and not be so afraid of them anymore!'  You see, I'm one of those 'safe bets' when it comes to people, always on the straight and narrow.  So why now?  Why want to change now?

It might have something to do with the fact that I resigned my job this past December to run my own business as of next week.  Though the business has been in existence for almost a year, it's still a major prayer case - which I do, every day.  For me though, this has been a major gap-taking, totally against my nature.  Yet I find myself thinking outside my straight line more and more, as if this one wild act has released something in me, something that makes me want to be that gap-taker, that gal who gets ahead in life.  I've been waiting for this chance my whole life, and golly, I'm taking it!  Perhaps this is just another part of my ONE new year's resolution - this year I'm going to live my dream! What is my dream, you may ask.  Well, ever since I became a mom I wanted a job where I could be with my kids when they needed me, but still be a leader in my field.  And now I'll have my dream with this business - though I have another business along the side, to help with the cash flow!  You know me, always busy...  I guess the time for make or break is now, when my dream is within my grasp.

So, the next time you see a white ford tracer taking the gap in traffic, the one you were too hesitant to take yourself...  That gap-taker is me - going for it!   Wish me luck...

Be Blessed!

My Prayer Child

  My elder daughter Chené has a very special spiritual gift and even as young as 6, she’s realizing the power behind it.  When she prays – THINGS HAPPEN!  I (of little faith) am amazed every time it does and I don’t know if her prayers are heard purely because of her faith in the fact that she asked God, so now whatever we prayed for will happen, or because of the fact that she is in awe of her gift.

My little prayer child was not planned, she was sent by God at a time when her parents needed her.  I always tell her that she was the best present I ever received from God.  I remember that when she was born, I didn’t sleep for 36 hours because the adrenaline was pumping and I couldn’t stop looking at and touching her.  Now she’s growing into a tall, lithely little girl with a colourful imagination (mmmm, a bit of Mommy there!) and a kind heart to all around her.

We constantly teach her about God and because we belong to a charismatic church, she also learns about the anointing of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts, with prayer being one of them.  She’s taken to her gift with an eagerness that is beyond her years.  I can’t really pinpoint when we noticed her gift, though I do remember one specific case where we needed a breakthrough for our business.  She prayed for us, in her childlike words and manner, and God heard her.  The breakthrough came!  Hubby Herman did that typical movie moment of – look at each other - ‘do you think…? No, it can’t be, she’s too young! But what if…’  and we started taking note.  More and more often things would fall into place when Chené prayed, to the point that, when we told her that she has a really special gift, she has been praying for anyone in need without being asked to do so.  She even prays for her little sister when she’s sick (all on her own) and lays hands on her father’s knee whenever his pain gets too bad. 

Two weeks ago I lost my purse – I looked EVERYWHERE, it was just nowhere to be found.  By last week I was almost crying, frustrated at not finding it and more frustrated with having to have my drivers licence and cards replaced at this time of year.  Last week Wednesday I dropped my kids with my mom, who would watch them while we had to work.  Mom knew about my purse, so she and Chené prayed.  That same afternoon, after I picked them up from Grandma, Chené tapped me on the shoulder in the car and handed me my purse!  She found it under a crate that was holding my seat in position (the nuts broke).  When I exclaimed my joy, she just stated that she and Grandma prayed about the purse, that’s why she found it.  Matter-of-factly… :-)  Two nights ago we had another issue with our business which needed an answer and she sat next to me while listening to daddy and my conversation.  “Mommy, must I pray for it?” she asked.  I almost started crying, but just hugged her instead.  Her faith was bigger than mine.

She recently asked me if she MUST have her eyes closed when she prays.  I explained that I love to pray to God while driving and that it would be a bit difficult to close my eyes then!  On her question of how I could pray WITHOUT my eyes closed, I explained that it’s a matter of focus – I focus on God during my driving and speak to Him loudly, as if He’s sitting next to me.  It’s the only time I have that’s quiet enough and leaves me with at least 15 minutes of prayer time, so why not use it!  I could see her little  mind racing to digest all that I had explained – now to see what she does with it!

I hope that God will always bless my little prayer child’s prayers as it comes from her heart.  She’s an inspiration to me and has given me a new lease on praying! 

Be Blessed in this Christ-Season!!

The very special pearls…

We had an interesting and uplifting message in church this past Sunday, both morning and evening, which made me think of this story that I had.  The message is basically the same as what is told here, so here goes:

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five.  Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please! , Mommy, please?" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbour and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up.  She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath.  Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story.  One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"  “Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you."  “Then give me your pearls."  "Oh, daddy, not my pearls.  But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail.  Remember, daddy?  The one you gave me.  She's my very favourite."  "That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"  “Daddy, you know I love you."  “Then give me your pearls."   "Oh Daddy, not my pearls.  But you can have my baby doll.  The brand new one I got for my birthday.  She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."  “That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you."  And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style.  As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.  “What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"  Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy.  And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace.  With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, daddy; this is for you."  With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny.

Wow! The father had the real pearls all the time. He was just waiting for Jenny to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure.  So it is with our Heavenly Father.  He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures.  God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.  The preacher explained it so well on Sunday, using short to tall men as degrees of comparison...  Every time God blesses us, the blessing will be bigger and better than the last blessing!  Even though we feel most like crying when we get to the big blessings, it is so worth it to just break through… so we can receive God’s grace in our lives!

May you BE BLESSED this week!

C.

Being a Christian…

Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas.  Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area.  When he sate down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change…

As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, ‘You’d better give the quarter back.  It would be wrong to keep it.’  Then he thought, ‘Oh, forget it, it’s only a quarter.  Who would worry about this little amount?  Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it.  Accept it as a ‘gift from God’ and keep quiet.’

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, ‘Here, you gave me too much change…’

The driver, with a smile, replied, ‘ Aren’t you the new preacher in town?’

'Yes' he replied.
'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday.'

When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.'

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to the test! Always be on guard -- and remember -- You carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself 'Christian.'

Watch your thoughts ; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits..
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

I'm glad a friend forwarded this to me as a reminder... :-)

Be Blessed!

My Prayer Tree

 

I have a very special tree in my back yard that I call my “prayer tree”.  According to my hubby Herman, it’s actually a weed and not a real tree, but I don’t care.  (Don’t some of us start out as weeds and end up being seen as trees, anyway?)  I love to get up earlier on summer mornings to hang up my

washing, so I can smell the sent of the wonderful, tiny little flowers that the tree has.  The flowers has the effect of making me close my eyes and draw in their sent to the point where my head is rolled back and my face is turned toward the sky… which in turn makes me look at Heaven when I open my eyes again… so I begin to pray and thank God for everything in my life.  This is a wonderful way to begin my mornings!

 

When I go to use the toilet, the open window lets the flowers’ wonderful smell waft in, calling me to come out and pray to say thank you for all the wonderful things in my life.  I smile when I smell it; it makes me happy.  I hate winter, mostly because it takes the joy of my prayer tree away from me and I have to struggle through the long, cold months to get to smell it again.  But oh boy!  The joy I feel when I get my first whiff of those little flowers!  I know it sounds corny that something so stupid can mean so much to me, but the time I spend hanging up my washing, smelling those flowers and TALKING TO GOD means the world to me.  It’s my personal little bit of alone time with my Father, spent surrounded by heavenly smells which I still insist He planted there years ago, knowing that it would someday become special to me. 

 

So in the same mindset, my eldest daughter Chené brought me a flower from her day mother’s garden the other day.  She explained to me that the flowers were them (Chené, little sister Mia and Herman), with me being the stem of the flower that keeps them all together… I FELT LIKE CRYING!!!  What wisdom to come from my fluttering, couldn’t-care little 5 year old!  It made me realise that in many households it is just like that – though the father is the head of the household, it’s the mother’s love and care and worry and prayers that keeps the family together!  (I know my mother did all of that and we still consider her our rock.)  But take away the stem and what happens to those flowers… sad…  I felt so honoured (as I still do) that my daughter thought of me as the stem – I just hope that I will live up to her vision of me!  I took a picture of the flower so I could tell you this story. 

 

May you too find a prayer tree in life!  And mommies – GO BE A STEM!!!

 

Be Blessed! C. 

So, it’s my birthday…

I always try to write a post for a dear friend on their birthdays, but today I am writing for me.  Selfish, yes, but I’ve been a bit down this morning, well this whole past two weeks really, and writing cheers me up, so here goes:

It always rains on my birthday – either the day before, on the day or the day after.  Yet not today… today it is 26 degrees Celsius outside and I’ve been wondering the whole morning what was going on.  You see, I’ve always considered rain on my birthday as God’s way of blessing me (abundantly), just like the song “Holy spirit rain down”.   So why not today?  Did I do something wrong???

Then I was standing by the window just now, looking out at the beautiful day outside and it dawned on me – HE WAS BLESSING ME!  As always, He knew what my spirit needed.  I don’t need rain, cold and wet.  I need SUNSHINE to brighten up my life, to shine on my face, to make me feel grateful that he cared enough about how I was doing to send me a beautiful day to bless and cheer me up on my birthday!  Thank you Father, for looking out for your daughter!

And then to top it all off, I just got a call from hubby from the road, who played me the intro of our wedding song (Shania Twain’s From This Moment, but WITH the intro), which has the most beautiful words.  I knew I felt like crying this morning, but at least I cried now for something sweet and beautiful and heartfelt!  He’s such a sweetheart!  He knew I was feeling a bit down too… sniff-sniff…

So, you see, it’s not my age that gets me down, though some things have started to SERIOUSLY go South!  I don’t mind growing older as long as I enjoy every step of the way.  It seems that since I hit my 30’s I stopped counting anyway.  I have to go back to my birth year these days just to remember how old I am!  I’m blessed in so many ways, I have a loving husband and two beautiful daughters who I adore.  My frustrations are all life related and I’m hoping that this sunshiney day will be the beginning of new things, new beliefs, new traditions… 

So as I am today – BE BLESSED!!! C.

YOU ARE A MOMMY WHEN......

 1. You trade in your little 3 door car for a mini-van.

2. Your assortment of CD's consist of Barney's greatest hits.

3. You can name all the Teletubby characters.

4. You believe that woman who had more than three babies deserve a Congressional Medal of Honour.

5. You put your good china in storage and bring out the Winnie the Pooh plate and cup set with matching  place mats.

6. Instead of carpet your floor is covered in legos, toy cars, and play dough.

7. Yogurt and cookies are on your "necessities" list when going to the grocery store.

8. You have to pack a bag with diapers, toys, crayons, cookies, juice, and spare clothes just to go to the grocery store.

9. A full nights sleep is a distant memory, and a few minutes alone in the bathroom is something you fantasize about.

10. You can't make lunch without peanut butter, jam or chocolate spread…

AND FINALLY…

Have wonderful WOMEN’s day on Monday… have a good rest!

Be Blessed! C.

 

At My Worst You Found Me…

Just a little something to inspire you:

 

I Am Learning Lord …

My life has taken many falls

And tumbles 'long the way.

The many trials have left me

In a sure state of dismay.

For with each trial, I tried alone

To tend, and soothe, and mend,

Instead of giving them to God -

And on Him just depend ....

But, I am learning, Lord…

It seems that I was determined

To carry all the load.

I longed for smoother pathways.

Yet, I walked a rocky road.

Little did I understand,

God waited patiently

To pave a new beginning

With a better life for me.

But, I am learning, Lord…

It took a real disaster

To bring me to my knees;

To finally call upon the Lord

And say, "God help me, please."

He can, with no delaying,

With strong arms that could hold -

The weight of all my burdens;

He gladly took the load.

And, I am learning, Lord…

What a needless cross I carried,

All because I could not see -

What a friend I have in Jesus,

And the love He has for me.

Peace I find when troubles hover,

Though' the outcome is unknown.

For if yet the road is rocky,

I won't walk it all alone.

For, I am learning, Lord
Author Unknown

Be Blessed! C.

A Father’s Day Poem

Hi all… I found this little gem and wanted to share it with all the dads out there who mean so much to us… thank you for being our Dads, Granddads and Husbands – May you be richly blessed on Fathers Day! Enjoy…

WHAT MAKES A DAD: by anon

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle’s flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need.

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew his masterpiece was complete,

And so he called it .......... Dad.

 

Be Blessed… C.

Rules for driving in South Africa

Since we are nearing the world cup... we should give tourists tips about travelling on our roads....

1.  Never indicate - this will give away your next move.  A real South African driver never uses them.

 
2.  Under no circumstance should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, this space will be filled by at least 2 taxis and a BMW, putting you in an even more dangerous situation.

3.  The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.

4.  Never, ever come to a complete stop at a stop sign.  No one expects it and it will only result in you being rear-ended.

5.  Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to ensure that your
ABS kicks in, giving you a nice, relaxing foot massage as the brake pedal pulsates.  For those of you without ABS, it's a chance to stretch your legs.

6.  Never pass on the right when you can pass on the left.  It's a good way to check if the people entering the highway are awake.

7.  Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as a guideline.  They are
especially not applicable in South Africa during rush hour.  That's why it's called 'rush hour....'

8.  Just because you're in the right lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn't mean that a South African driver flashing his high beams behind you doesn't think he can go faster in your spot.

9.  Always slow down and rubberneck when you see an accident or even someone changing a tyre.  Never stop to help - you will be mugged.

10.  Learn to swerve abruptly.  South Africa is the home of the high-speed slalom driving thanks to the government, which puts holes in key locations to test drivers' reflexes and keeps them on their toes.

11.  It is traditional to honk your horn at cars that don't move the instant the light turns green.  This prevents storks from building nests on top of the traffic light and birds from making deposits on your car.

12.  Remember that the goal of every South African driver is to get there first, by whatever means necessary.

13.  On average, at least three cars can still go through an intersection after the light has turned red.  It's people not adhering to this basic principle that causes the big traffic jams during rush hour.

 Now guys go out there today and make South Africa proud!!!

Hahahaha! Be Blessed!