the Hot Rooms of Life

It. Is. June. Oh my gosh! And I am getting quite confused as to what I should write and where, as Sudden Insight is supposed to be all like devotional and stuff, but lately I haven't felt too devotional... My other blog, mypenwrotedown.blogspot.com is for like short stories and poems, which leaves me with no place for ranting, which is what most people use their blogs for! I feel like I am missing out on something important. Heh. 



Something interesting my mom and I talked about the other day, and I shall share that with you. (Yoda phrasing there I did. Purposely not but Star Wars just the other day I watched. Stop I shall now.)

Finland is famous for numerous things, and one of the major ones is the SAUNA :) If you have never heard of it before, check it out here quickly before you carry on : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna. An interesting though irrelevant fact about saunas which I found from a survey I did for biology last year, is that 29 out of 30 people after having a sauna feel more happy and content with life, relaxed and stress free. (the one out of 30 who didn't think this was my sister and she doesn't really count as she hasn't been exposed to saunas due to living abroad so much, so we'll excuse her.)  


If you've ever been in a sauna you will know that it gets quite hot in there. I've been in +110¤. Doesn't it sound crazy? Why would someone do that to themselves, right? That's the interesting thing. You bear it, because you know you will get out. Same as once you do get out you enjoy rolling in the snow (this guy shares his experience) or swimming in the freeeeeezing cold lake/pool/swamp whatever, because you know you can and will get out and back into the sauna to warm up. 


This one time my mom locked the sauna from the outside, forgetting that I was still inside. Until then I was very chilled in there, but as soon as I realized i couldn't get out if I wanted to I started freaking out. Claustrophobia set in and suddenly it was uncomfortably hot. I was about to very melodramatically faint onto the floor when she came back and opened the door. So of course once she came inside I went out and did the same to her. Jokes! 

My point is, though, that this is quite similar to our lives as Christians. Often we are persecuted for our beliefs,  but why do we persevere? Because we know what is at the end of it. Even though it might feel uncomfortable at present, we stick to God because he is worth it and we have our eyes on the goal, not the situation at the moment. One of my favorite verses at the moment is 2 Corinthians 4.18




 So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Persevere through the Sauna of life and reap the rewards of the brilliant cooling and relaxation effect of the lake of eternal life. Hey, but this doesn't mean that you shouldn't enjoy the sauna as well!


Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will later reveal to us. Romans 8.18 






now i feel like jumping into the pool....


xXx

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