It's Not Mine Afterall

Good Morning-ish :)

Morning Flowers

I take a lot of stuff for granted in life... I wake up, eat breakfast, surf the internet on my laptop and chat to friends on facebook. This is my holiday mode by the way, yes I finished grade 11 and am currently enjoying family over from Finland for a few weeks, and sorting through christmas presents =) During the school year I wake up (I'm not a morning person at all so for everyones safety and well being, I usually advise people not to try start a conversation with me before 8am, even then I sometimes tend to be in zombie mode. Super attractive yeah right...) and go to school.

'Sudden Insight Moment' - - Why do I get to do all of this? Why should I get all of this? Ok, I have a good relationship with my parents, so it makes sense that they would give me food, and I studied hard so I should pass the year. You could justify me waking up by me having a healthy lifestyle (I am positive that chocolate is good for you in some ways at least.) and going to sleep at a decent time.

But if you think about it, in the end all those justifications are just excuses. When it comes right down to it, there is no reason that we should have anything we have through what we have done. We have no right to Life.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from youselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.'' Ephesians 2.8

 

Jesus died for our sins, so that we could be forgiven and we wouldn't die but instead we would have eternal life in heaven. There is no way we could earn our way to heaven, but we were saved through grace- we got something that we did not deserve. Same as with eternal life, our life here and now is also a gift. We didn't do anything to deserve it, we can't earn it, but God gives it to us for free.

Last week an amazing lady from my church named Diane died. She got cancer, and her body deteriorated rapidly. Imagine, especially in those last weeks, how her husband Nathan praised God for every morning that he woke up and he was still allowed to spend time with her. How precious every moment must have been. 

A New Day

You might not be lying on your death bed, but I think it should still be a moment for celebration every time you wake up to a new day, because God has given you a chance yet again. He gives you a new day and a new mission for that day.

'This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it' psalm 118.24 

Thank him for the chance to keep on living. Thank him for all the little things that you take for granted. Be open to his guidance, ask him to show you what he wants you to do with this day. And Rejoice!

Who is the Life of Your Party?

Hey Everyone!

I am officially Seventeen! Most people don't believe me, but it's all cool. But I think the older you get, the more insignificant the change is. I was at my neighbors birthday party and we calculated that as he turned 3, his age just increased by 50 percent. My age increased by about 6.3 percent. By the time you turn 100 (if you do) your age would be increasing by a mere 1 percent! Of course it is good that it works this way and not vice versa, imagine if when you turned 30 your age would increase by 50 percent, you would actually turn 45! Confusing and a bummer hey.. :)

Now that we are over that mathematical fun fact about birthdays, I can get to the major theme that everyone looks forward to at the special time of year, at least I do. I get overly excited, actually. The Birthday PARTY. Obviously. My mom has long ago handed over the organising of family parties to me, she makes the food, and I plan the rest. And I love it! I think it was at my 11th party that I made the first official treasure hunt on my own. Half of the clues had blown away by the time we were starting so I stationed my siblings in the places where the clues had disappeared from and made them repeat the clues like parrots. Big families are useful for this kind of things, although it may have worked better if they would have remembered the clues! 

But since that party I dare say my game choices have been adapted to the windy climate of the observatory and the quality of the activities has improved. I went on to have an Amazing race party one year, a survivor slash pool party and even this 'mixed up dinner party' where people ordered numbers off the menu and had no idea what food they would get! 

 Every year the guest list get longer, the happenings get more elaborate, and expectations became higher for both me and my friends. These all bring me to this year. Suddenly I didn't feel that amped 'it is party planning time' feeling that usually comes as soon as one party is finished. I was daunted by the fact that I was supposed to come up with yet another get together. What if people wouldn't enjoy it? I was severely stressed out about what used to be the highlight of my year. (of course some of you don't appreciate this kind of stressing over planning and prefer to just take it as it comes, but I plan my parties okay? and the planning usually helps!)

Enter my mom. I think moms are seriously under rated these days, lets stop and think about this for a second before I carry on. All that stuff she goes through for you, cooks, cleans, drives, stays up late waiting for you to come home, then listens to your problems even when she has a million of her own. Impressive! This generation has some big shoes to fill... :) Anyways, so my mom comes into the picture. Basically I was busy venting out all my 'my party is going to fail, no one's coming everything is going wrong' teenage whining thing to her and she just turns around and says ' Rebekka, who is the one who will make this party succeed; you or God? God is going to bring the people he wants to bring to your party, and he will make it work. Leave it to Him.'  

  

I found Deuteronomy 8.17-18 -->

 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth.

Wow. Reality check. 

I was looking at my party like meMEmeMEmeMEmeME. But Christ is in me. I was made alive in Him. It is intriguing how something so seemingly secular as a birthday party, can have God's hand in it, and be used to glorify Him! I had not thought about my party in that light, at all. But now that I did, I could feel all the stress and pressure lift off me. And everytime something made me start feeling anxious, I could stop and say ' God, you take this from me, I trust you.' 

I stopped worrying about the party, and guess what? It was the best seventeenth party I have ever been at. There was enough food, enough games, enough chilling, enough friends... it was perfect. The 'vibe' was amazing, when my mom blessed the braai meat before we ate there was this unity in spirit, its hard to explain.. But I couldn't stop smiling and I felt so happy. I think everyone enjoyed it immensely, at least that is what i gathered from the feedback I got! People were blessed by the party, and the conversations and games impacted everyone. A birthday party! God is interested in the most peculiar things, because we are interested in them.

When the last person left past midnight I sat down in my room and thought about the evening. This joyous feeling came over me, and I just knew- 'That was all God.'

He is awesome.

*I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.*  galatians 2:20

:)

Im not THAT wrinkly...Or am I?

Good Night!
( Why is this automatically assumed a farewell? I mean, don't you meet people in the middle of the night as well? ... Just a thought... ;)

It was the most curious thing, I absent mindedly traced all the creases in the palm of my right hand with a pen while my diary lay splayed open before me on my bed.(Yup, I have a diary, a nice big fat one I might add:) As I looked down at my hand, all these creases and wrinkles now so evident made my hand look quite old and, frankly, weird. Now these wrinkles were the only thing that I noticed on my hand!

This may often happen in life as well. It is very easy to focus on one small problem in life and made to seem like it is the biggest problem ever presented to mankind. The flawless beauty of the rest of ones life has no meaning when this one 'major' issue can't be solved.

Especially teenagers! We often have a strange relationship with negative emotions, as if we were proud of being in the depths of despair (often for the most random and insignificant reasons) and having mood swings which can be conveniently blamed on teenage hormones. I admit, I get that way too sometimes, and that's when my mom's immediate and practical advice comes in, 'Go to bed and the problem will not be as big in the morning.' The world usually doesn't seem so bad a place in the light of a new day :)

It is also healthy to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Get a new perspective, and get other peoples perspective as well. What may seem catastrophic to you can be as simple as the difference between an apple and an orange to someone else.

Focus on the good things in life, the things you are grateful for. I don't mean that you should totally ignore the things that are going badly, of course those need attention and care as well, but don't dwell on those depressing thoughts continuously. Balance is key.

'Finally, brothers (which includes, sisters of course), whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.' Philippians 4.8

My left hand, is the perfect picture of what a nearly 17 year old hand is supposed to look like, as far as I know. Yes, the creases are there too, quite visible, but not the main feature. These creases aren't accentuated out of proportion with a blue pen. ;)

And remember that God is bigger than ANY problem! Give your worries to him :)

A Prayer for Today :)

Today 

Dear God,

Let my heart be filled with joy,

Let me love each girl and boy.

Help me spread the gospel onwards,

Keep me on this path, today and afterwards.

Help me be kind, gentle and loving.

Not gossiping or lying, and keep me from judging.

Help me live today as if it were my last

Please forgive me my sins,

Future, present and past.

Thank you for this brand new day!

Amen :)

Place - World. Status - Ended. Wait What?

 ( In case you are interested my Finland holiday has been filled with fun and friends and berry picking and swimming... all together extremely enjoyable, but I am looking forward to returning to Cape Town next week! :)

With the doomsday 'prophesy' earlier this year and the Mayan Calendar's ending in 2012 there has been a lot of talk lately about the 'End of the World' (que mystic oohing here) Us being in mortal bodies gives us a weird fascination and healthy fear of death, doesn't it? What if I randomly up and died today? What if the world suddenly ended tomorrow (and I never got to tell that dude that I had a crush on him!? :)

Well, firstly I am happy to say that if you did happen to die today, or the world ended tomorrow, and you have accepted Christ as your Saviour, then your immortal soul would get to live on forever in heaven! Gives a bit of a plus to dying! ;) But also, about the end of the world, the bible says that  "No one knows when that day or hour will come-not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father," matthew 24.36. We don't have to worry about people's guesses. The 2012 end of the world catastrophe philosophy sprung from the Mayan calendar ending on that day, and we are all still here eventhough its way past the 21st of May, as well as the year 2000, when all technology was supposed to collapse etc.

God may have a funny sense of humor and Judgment Day could end up on December 21 2012, but only God knows that. No amount of  calculations will work. We are humans. But what we can do is be ready. Don't be like the stupid brides maids in Matthew 25.1-13 who were left out of the party. A common idealogy is that I will have fun while I am young and then once I am older I will think about this religion stuff.  But James 4.14 gives us a bit of perspective.

' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone. '

Accept Jesus while there is still time. He may come back in 2012, he may come in thirty years time, but he may also come tomorrow. Will you be ready?

Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Isaiah 55.6

I don't know when the end is coming, but I will stay ready and I hope when the trumpets blow and the King above all kings returns you will be ready too. :) Then we will have the time of our lives in heaven for eternity and beyond!

Ps. God knows how many hairs there are on your head, he loves you and wants the best for you, if you trust in him with all your heart he will direct your path and guard you from evil.     proverbs 3.5 (:

Ants and Cousins (in Finland!)

Moikka :)

That's 'hi' in Finnish, and Finland is the country I am in at the moment! I've been here for three weeks and still am for an other 6! extended and much appreciated summer vacation in the middle of the South African winter :)

I haven't blogged for ever and its really quite depressing, but I haven't forgotten about it! I've got a few thoughts I want to share as soon as I get a chance to sit down at the computer for more than 10 minutes..! So just hang in there and soon theres going to be a nice long blog to read C=  But now I am getting pulled to the after supper table by my not-so-little cousins. They are always so full of life and energetic, sometimes its quite tiring just watching them! :P Now I understand what Jesus meant when he said that we should be like children. Besides kids being innocent and having faith, they are also so trusting, fun loving and so full of life! Imagine all that child's energy being put into adults. Just think of the changes in politics, missions work, and education if adults were a bit more like kids :) Jesus said to go look at the ant, but maybe we should also go look at the children. They are flipping awesome!

Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." matthew 19.14

:)

Oh, and an afterthought as I'm rushing off: 

'Rejoice in the Lord at all times. I will say it again: Keep on rejoicing! ' philippians 4.4

It is so FUN rejoicing in the Lord! Hopefully I can share more on that super soon :D

xX

Rain Drops and Pip Squeaks

The other night I was just about to go to bed when I heard rain pattering on the roof. Now, since it was still summer, it was REALLY hot, so the sound of rain was like the welcome drum beat of refreshingness ;P So I jumped off of my bed and ran out the door in my pyjamas (since we live on a site with many houses but not many my aged people I could do this without embarrassment from peers or danger of kidnapping by a random street person. ;) I stood on the trampoline with the rain running down my face, singing 'Singing in the Rain' since it seemed fitting. The rain stopped as quick as it had come, and the clouds broke apart. a shining full moon and dazzling stars appeared and I can safely say that the midnight sky that night was a deep velvet purple. That was one of those moments that you might miss, but if you don't, it is worth remembering. :) Bee-E-A-uutiful :)

'When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, I wonder, What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?' psalm 8.3-4

Amazing outerspace :)

Nature always puts me in my place. It reminds me how insignificant we are. We are tiny compared to Earth, right? and our solar system (the planets and the sun) is a microscopic part of the Milky Way galaxy. Well, according to my dad (he's an astronomer, so this is purely scientific) and I quote; 'The milky way compared to the universe is like a mosquito's poop in the Atlantic Ocean.'

Fun Fact :  The light from the closest star (excluding the sun) takes 3 years to reach us! THREE YEARS!! And that light is traveling at the speed of light! (299 792 458 metres per second btw.) seconds in a year - 31 536 000. so that times three times the speed of light... hehe you can do the maths, I'm on holiday :)

1 Peter 5.7 'He cares for you.'


As humans, we have a tendency of thinking of ourselves as the center of the universe. We aren't. Not even close. And we aren't that significant either. God is the center. He is the Creator. And    He    Cares    For     Us..!! Us insignificant little pipsqueaks!! Take some time, go out into nature and see for yourself this wonderful world that God made. He made the amazing intricate designs of every flower and molded each unique distant star. And he loves us. Our God is AWESOME!

Before you go, just remember that if it is or has been raining, better take gumboots and a jacket, 'cause take it from someone who knows, if you stand in the rain in your pj's you'll have a cold by the next morning, and that aint that much fun ;)

The Moments

Heya :)

Life has an interesting knack of going on, whether you want it to or not. I find that it is actually super easy to forget about the moment when thinking about the future. This doesn't have to be the far off future, but does wishing away the week so that it would be the weekend, and as soon as Sunday is half gone you 'just can't wait till friday' sound familiar? :) There is so much to live for during the week as well! Someone once said that 'Each and every moment has the potential to be the best moment of your life.' So why are you wasting this moment waiting for the next moment, when this moment could be so much better than that? if that makes sense... My mom was a nurse when she was younger, and she had an elderly patient who had been a judge. He had been so busy with his work he hadn't had time for anything else. He had no family, no relatives, and no friends. His work consumed him and as he acquired more and more money he thought that once he retired then he would travel and do all the things that people do for fun and leisure. However, later on in his life he developed a migraine, and it never really went away. He had severe headaches for the rest of his life, and once he was retired, he wasn't able to read, watch TV or travel. He had spent his whole life waiting for his future only to find his future a lonely and painful place to be. I bet he wished he could go back and live his life again, so he could have done something worthwhile with it.

" Now listen, you who say, 'today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that" James 4.13-15

Heectic hey? We aren't in control of our lives. Its all up to God.
I think since God gave me my life, what option do I have but living it for him? I mean its the least I could do..

:)


Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.
Master Shifu from Kung-Fu Panda (the most awesome animated kung-fu movie ever!)

Stress-free Soaring

Phil 4.6

Good Morning! =D

Lately I have been super busy with school work, grade eleven seems to try suck out every drop of energy I have and then some more. I wasn't expecting it, but I guess it makes sense that grade 11 is harder than grade ten... The book of Isaiah, even though it seems like a hard to read or understand kind of book, has some really good insights. One of my favorite verses is from Isaiah 40, verse 31.

' But Those who place their trust in the Lord will gain new strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint.' 

This verse stopped me in my tracks. I was in a place where I was physically worn out with the busyness of my life, (and no, I'm not a forty something in a midlife crisis though that's a bit what it sounds like, high school is stressful too!) I realized that I don't have to do this alone when I have Jesus by my side. He is there to help me along, he doesn't want to stand by and watch, he wants to participate.

It suddenly struck me how God was right there, just waiting for me to fall into his arms so he could carry me the rest of the way. Now any time when I feel stressed or worn out, I take out my bible and read that verse again. I can give all my worries to God, and let him iron out my problems (I have this cute card that has one of those super wrinkly puppies and it has that sentence on it. A clever visual pun. ;)  

I love being a Christian, because I know there is someone who loves me more than I could ever imagine. He also cares about me and all my problems, even the itty bitty ones like the heritage project for history (I spent all day on that today btw)

‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ Philippians 4.13

(I find this verse easy to remember because it rhymes hehe :)

God loves you and wants to help you. You don’t have to carry on struggling by yourself, let him carry you. I did, and it was probably the best decision I ever made.

Right Now

Hi!
My name is Rebekka, and I feel led to start a Blog.
Now i KNOW that sounds very religious and olden dayish, but before you stop reading, I would like to surprise you with two interesting facts;
1. Im not old, at all. I'm actually 16 :)
2. I DO feel like God is calling me to this!

Basically, I love writing, and I love God.

So, maybe I should explain this urge.

I had a small kind of revelation, a Sudden Insight. That there are all these small stories about my life, stories of mess ups and victories, stories of me finding God, getting closer to God, and realizing new things about him. I want to share these stories with you, so you can share in the mishaps and joys of my life and journey with my Father. My hope is that you could also get closer to Him and understand more about Him. I also wish that you will be encouraged to journey further with God. He is truly amazing and will become even more so if you just dare let him into your life. You won't regret it!

I have always fancied the idea of writing a big fat book series about my life, like the Little House on the Prairie series or the Anne of Green Gables series. But, well, I cant do that till there is more of my life, or I could, but it seems kind of partial, so I thought of rather just waiting till I'm older, write an autobiography then. But I just went to a brilliant camp (camp rev!) and the main point was that ' Don't Waste Right NOW' 

'How do I write this 'big story' with only a bit over 16 years of life?' I thought. 'How do I not waste my love for writing right now?'

And so came the thought of starting a blog.
And here it is :)
I hope you enjoy reading about my life as much as I enjoy living it!
And don't forget to live YOUR own life, and make the most of Right Now
xXx God Loves You