I recently read 'Blood River' by Tim Butcher. Very good book which I recommend to everyone.
From a South African point of view his insights hit the nail on the head. The one thing we Saffers fear the most is that our beautiful land will be forced down the same path as [most] of the other countries in Africa. A dismal prospect.
Someone said the other day that we are on page 4 of 'the book Mugabe Wrote'. Heaven forfend. It is a bit worrying though when Rhodesian ex-pats keep harping on the fact that they are seeing exactly the same spiral downwards here that occurred in [now] Zimbabwe. They point to the Health, Education, Farm Evictions [which are happening here, but under the radar] and other things like Unemployment issues. Crime of course is a given as an indicator of the lack of control the government are exercising. Crooks holding positions of power and influence are another item. The list goes on.....
Someone made an interesting comment the other day comparing the current government with the previous government [I hate the word 'regime']. The premise is that all governments suffer from some level of corruption [surely true], but that while the previous bunch would take $1m out of an Aid package of $10m and share it with their friends, the current bunch will eat $9m out of the $10m and then use the rest for cover-up bribes.
But we love it here. My family have been resident on South African soil for over 200 years, and we are African, albeit white. Perhaps it's time for a new class of citizen - the European-African. I mean, America has it's African-Americans, so why not?
Showing posts with label Quality of Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quality of Life. Show all posts
Feb 12, 2011
All Ye Takers. . .
Ah all you takers, grabbing everything you can, as fast as you can. Indeed one day you will be able to say,"I got it all." But I doubt that you will still 'have it all' by then.
What you forget is this: What goes around, comes around, and you cannot get away from it. It will happen to you as you have caused it to happen to others. Make no mistake, you might still have the fat bank account, the fancy car/s, the mansion/s, the holidays in Europe or wherever, but you lives will be empty, filled with the emptiness that only loneliness can bring. Enjoy. This is your lot.
You see, we are required to go through life uplifting those around us, supporting those in need, helping each other where possible, and if we don't then be sure we will get our just deserts.
Because God wrote it into the rules, and like gravity, you cannot get away from it.
Selah.
What you forget is this: What goes around, comes around, and you cannot get away from it. It will happen to you as you have caused it to happen to others. Make no mistake, you might still have the fat bank account, the fancy car/s, the mansion/s, the holidays in Europe or wherever, but you lives will be empty, filled with the emptiness that only loneliness can bring. Enjoy. This is your lot.
You see, we are required to go through life uplifting those around us, supporting those in need, helping each other where possible, and if we don't then be sure we will get our just deserts.
Because God wrote it into the rules, and like gravity, you cannot get away from it.
Selah.
Feb 9, 2011
Charles Spurgeon: Morning devotion for Feb 9
Morning, February
Found this very instructional - every Christian should follow these guidelines [extracted from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening devotionals].
“And David enquired of the Lord.” - 2 Samuel 5:23
When David made this enquiry he had just fought the Philistines, and gained a signal victory. The Philistines came up in great hosts, but, by the help of God, David had easily put them to flight. Note, however, that when they came a second time, David did not go up to fight them without enquiring of the Lord. Once he had been victorious, and he might have said, as many have in other cases, “I shall be victorious again; I may rest quite sure that if I have conquered once I shall triumph yet again. Wherefore should I tarry to seek at the Lord’s hands?” Not so, David. He had gained one battle by the strength of the Lord; he would not venture upon another until he had ensured the same. He enquired, “Shall I go up against them?” He waited until God’s sign was given.
Learn from David to take no step without God. Christian, if thou wouldst know the path of duty, take God for thy compass; if thou wouldst steer thy ship through the dark billows, put the tiller into the hand of the Almighty. Many a rock might be escaped, if we would let our Father take the helm; many a shoal or quicksand we might well avoid, if we would leave to his sovereign will to choose and to command.
The Puritan said, “As sure as ever a Christian carves for himself, he'll cut his own fingers;” this is a great truth. Said another old divine, “He that goes before the cloud of God’s providence goes on a fool’s errand;” and so he does. We must mark God’s providence leading us; and if providence tarries, tarry till providence comes. He who goes before providence, will be very glad to run back again. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go,” is God’s promise to his people.
Let us, then, take all our perplexities to him, and say, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Leave not thy chamber this morning without enquiring of the Lord.
Found this very instructional - every Christian should follow these guidelines [extracted from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening devotionals].
“And David enquired of the Lord.” - 2 Samuel 5:23
When David made this enquiry he had just fought the Philistines, and gained a signal victory. The Philistines came up in great hosts, but, by the help of God, David had easily put them to flight. Note, however, that when they came a second time, David did not go up to fight them without enquiring of the Lord. Once he had been victorious, and he might have said, as many have in other cases, “I shall be victorious again; I may rest quite sure that if I have conquered once I shall triumph yet again. Wherefore should I tarry to seek at the Lord’s hands?” Not so, David. He had gained one battle by the strength of the Lord; he would not venture upon another until he had ensured the same. He enquired, “Shall I go up against them?” He waited until God’s sign was given.
Learn from David to take no step without God. Christian, if thou wouldst know the path of duty, take God for thy compass; if thou wouldst steer thy ship through the dark billows, put the tiller into the hand of the Almighty. Many a rock might be escaped, if we would let our Father take the helm; many a shoal or quicksand we might well avoid, if we would leave to his sovereign will to choose and to command.
The Puritan said, “As sure as ever a Christian carves for himself, he'll cut his own fingers;” this is a great truth. Said another old divine, “He that goes before the cloud of God’s providence goes on a fool’s errand;” and so he does. We must mark God’s providence leading us; and if providence tarries, tarry till providence comes. He who goes before providence, will be very glad to run back again. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go,” is God’s promise to his people.
Let us, then, take all our perplexities to him, and say, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Leave not thy chamber this morning without enquiring of the Lord.
Feb 8, 2011
Satan's meeting
Read this even if you're busy, make time and read it!!!!!!!!!!
Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said,''
We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have any to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.
This is what I want you to do;
Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!''
''How shall we do this?'' his demons shouted.
This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.
It will work!
It will work!
It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there and having little time for their God or their families or to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.
I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes? You be the judge!!!!!
Does 'BUSY' mean: Being Under Satan's Yoke?
Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said,''
We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have any to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.
This is what I want you to do;
Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!''
''How shall we do this?'' his demons shouted.
- ''Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds.
- Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow.
- Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles.
- Keep them from spending time with their children.
- As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!
- Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice.
- Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, and to keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home, and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly.
This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.
- Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers.
- Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day.
- Invade their driving moments with billboards.
- Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hope.
- Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives.
- Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night. Give them headaches too!
- If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere.
- Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas.
- Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection andpower over sin and death.
- Even in their recreation, let them be excessive , have them return from their recreation exhausted.
- Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation.
- Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead.
- Keep them busy, busy, busy!
- And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences.
- Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus.
It will work!
It will work!
It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there and having little time for their God or their families or to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.
I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes? You be the judge!!!!!
Does 'BUSY' mean: Being Under Satan's Yoke?
Aug 5, 2008
If this is where we're going I want in......
Archinect : Features : ShowCase: LILYPAD
Have a look at this offering from Belgium - probably the most innovative, all-encompassing solution anyone has come up with in a long while. By this I mean it would benefit a great many people for many years to come should it be seriously considered.
One wonders how the powers-that-be will see this.
Have a look at this offering from Belgium - probably the most innovative, all-encompassing solution anyone has come up with in a long while. By this I mean it would benefit a great many people for many years to come should it be seriously considered.
One wonders how the powers-that-be will see this.
Feb 13, 2008
That was a bit off.....
Hey, this time it looks different! I can enter a title and then just update the text by typing. Goodliness only......
I would really like to take this opportunity to say something of great import - something that will change the lives of my readers [if any] if they merely happened to read what I write - but I can't think of anything, except for this:
God made everything
He made the rules
If we don't play by His rules we will spend an eternity in Hell
and......
There is only One Way to make right with God and.....
He provided this Way because.......
He knows the stubbornness of our hearts
So......
- Realise that you are a sinner
- Accept the fact that you will burn in Hell for this
- Know that Jesus took your punishment on Himself on the cross so you don't have to burn
- Accept Jesus into your heart
- Confess your sin to Him
- He is now part of your life
You must read the Bible [try to get hold of a New King James, for safety's sake] - it will open up your mind because when Jesus comes into your heart your spirit is awakened [this is what being 'Born Again' actually means] and you will see and learn things in a different way.
If you need more info / would like say something send me an email by clicking here.
Be blessed.......
Mar 24, 2006
Stress Management
A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "how heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it."
"If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."
"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can."
"Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!
And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone R20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
* Never buy a car you can't push.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today..........
"If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."
"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can."
"Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!
And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone R20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
* Never buy a car you can't push.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today..........
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