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!