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.