Do you also know people who can be called oxygen thieves? When you are in their company it feels as if you are breathing carbon dioxide all the time. I am referring to the worry brigade who complain all the time. If you tell them things are going well, they tell you about the increasing crime in the country. If you refer to a wonder that has occurred, they go on about the lifelessness of the church.

Too many people live in a world of darkness. That goes for church people as well. Some believers give in to feelings of despondency and hopelessness. They end up being victims of a lack of faith. You can be sure that those whose thoughts and words are always negative cannot not live a life free of care. Faith and worry do not go together. Worry is a robber of faith. The Lord Jesus assures us of that in Matthew 13 when He tells the parable of the seeds that fall in different places.

Psalm 37 gives a few practical guidelines on what to do to stay out of reach of the clutches of the oxygen thief brigade:

Do not waste your time by speaking about evil people (verse 1). Leave them to the Lord. He has their names and addresses and will settle with them in his own time.
Trust in the Lord instead (verse 3). Choose to focus your attention exclusively on God. Avert your eyes from everything negative and look to God. Choose to cling to Him every day.
Do good deeds for others (verse 3). Become involved. Do not live inside yourself. You are called to have an impact in the world. It is not too late. Become a living inspiration to others. Make sure that one or two people who are truly in need have your name on their lips. Reach out. Be the hands and feet of the Lord to those in need.
Rejoice each moment in knowing the Lord. He will see to it that you get what you need (verse 4). Choose joy, the Lord's kind. Be truly glad that the Lord knows and loves you. You matter in the right Place. You are not simply a number here on earth. Royal blood flows in your veins, the blood of Christ.
Place your life in the hands of the Lord each day. Believe in Him; He will keep you on the right course. The Lord will show others that you live your life according to his will (verses 5-6). Your faith should change your life, if not you are wasting your time on a grand scale. Report for active duty each day. Trust God implicitly to keep your life on the right track. Trust Him to make you a blessing to others.


Escape from a life of darkness today and become a living inspiration. That is God's will for you.



Prayer

Lord, protect me from being negative.

Keep me from polluting others with despondent words.

Lead me on your roads of righteousness.

Determine the course of my whole life.

Let my faith make a real difference in the life of at least one other person.

I pray this in the good Name of Christ.

Amen

Stephan Joubert
echurch

:am:

It is a bit :cold: here today! The unny: is shining very weak!

I am enjoying all the blossoms that are on the trees so much. The last 5 years I've been in Scotland this time of the year and I forgot what the area looks like when the trees are in blossom. So beautiful!

:blom:

We were in U.K. earlier this week , by car - well : in London and Surrey , to be more precise ;
there was a few hours to spare on Wednesday and the weather was kind ;
the wife got her way and we were able to squeeze all the main supermarkets on the A3-run into our "return-to-Chunnel" schedule :
- Asda ( "cheap" and quite disappointing , quality&choice-wise ) ,
- Tesco ( ever-more American-looking , very busy ) ,
- Sainsbury's ( so much improved now , I thought )
- M & S ( No!!! Jumped-up , fuddy-daddie , Deja-Vu , a has-been ...) and
Waitrose , in both Esher and Cobham ;
the lucky wife got really pleased this time , she was able to select well over a over a dozen gemsquashes ( priced around 50 p ) and plenty lovely paw-paws ( many "reduced" to 75 p ) ,
so for her , the trip was well-worth it !
Are there gemsquashes and paw-paws on offer where you live ?
If so : in which months of the year , usually ?
How are they priced ?

This year , the event was held in the spectacular , elegant main hall of the world-renowned Africa Museum , in beautifully green , treed and leafy Tervueren , just east of Bruxelles-city ;
some of the higlights were :
- wonderfully positive and uplifting , eloquent , competent and moving speech by Charge d'Affairs , mr. Ian Basson ;
- introduction to the brand-new S.A. Ambassador ( to Kingdom of Belgium and the EU-community ) and his wife ;
- live renditions of Nkosi Sikhelele/Die Stem , Shosholoza and many other "standards" ;
- really good bobotie & boerewors ;
- Pongratz champagne , some excellent Cape reds ;
- meeting many ex-SAffers ( here for the long , or short , term/s ) , of various ethnic origins.
So , in summary : a thoroughly pleasing experience , indeed !

:am:

It is a bit :cold: here .... more a chilly wind blowing.

Have no spesific plans for today other than doing laundry and clearing things away things that got a bit messy after a busy week.

Enjoy your Saturday!

:jive:

I quite enjoyed this

Have a look here.....

It makes sense why I know so little about computers

Good morning and Friday once again - wishing you all have a wonderful day and a fabulous weekend ahead of you.

South African temporary passports (19/04/06)

The British Government announced on 19 April that it would stop accepting South African temporary passports for travel to the UK.

We have put in place transitional arrangements that will allow travellers holding a temporary passport, issued on or before 19 April to travel to the UK up to 1 June. This will ensure that anyone who plans to visit the UK will be able to do so. Those who hold a valid airline ticket purchased before 10 May will be allowed to travel before 1 June. Anyone with a temporary passport who purchases an airline ticket between 11 and 30 May can also travel to the UK before 1 June but will need obtain a UK visa. From 1 June, South African temporary passports will no longer be accepted for travel to the UK.

For more information, please contact the Consular Section
Tel: 012 421 7801
Fax: 012 421 7877

Lees hier.....

I tried to put some smilies in with my last couple of posts but for some unknown reason they wouldn't appear when I tried to go to them. Can anyone offer some help about this?
Also my browser didn't automatically redirect like before.
Thank You.