Love in Action Journey

I don't think any of us could ever have imagined what a crazy year 2020 would actually be! The whole world feels so very different, but I'm always amazed at our ability as mankind to dig deep, change and adapt.  Just as we've started getting a handle on our "new normal" (if i never hear those words again ...), our city has now been hit with a new crisis. They are calling it "Day Zero".  How jolly ominous does that sound! 😳 It's the shocking day that heralds the announcement that many areas in our city have run out of water!!! We've been in a drought for what feels like forever, but never did I actually think we would reach a day where the water would run out! The taps are dry. Broken underground pumps and pipes have contributed to the crisis which they are hard at work trying to fix, but certain areas have had no water for over a week already. I felt like I was in another world driving by a long line of people with their masks on (that in itself...

Lately the theme of "self care" seems to be jumping out in whatever I read. During a parenting course I've been attending online, we were discussing the importance of self care to keep us effective (and sane) as moms in the home. The presenter broke it down so beautifully. It is the wisdom of creating moments where you can catch your breath to do something meaningful for yourself, even if it's as simple as holding a cup of tea / coffee in your hands and practicing stillness to enjoy the moment fully. That picture spoke powerfully to my heart. I'm the queen of the juggle! The hardest thing for me is to not multitask! An ongoing theme in my life is trying to practice the art of stillness and consistency. That simple little picture of stillness keeps speaking to my heart. Often times we grab our moments of self-care "on the go". Instead of savouring what could be a refreshing moment to catch our breath, we rush it! I can't tell you how many times I...

Just before our crazy lockdown kicked in near the end of March, my clever husband decided to do some planting. He put in a lovely veggie patch that gave us some wonderful fresh veggies over the next few weeks. He also planted a small granadilla bush to creep up the beams of our veranda. He has faithfully been tending to it over the last 5 months, readjusting it's every curling frond to climb in the right direction. To be honest, I haven't taken too much notice of how much it's grown until I was having a cup of tea with a friend last week. The first thing she noticed when she walked through our front gate was the creeper. I was taken aback when I saw it through her eyes. Because the growth had been gradually taking place in front of me every day, I lost sight of just how quickly it was actually growing. Her surprise at seeing the change in just a few short months gave me fresh eyes when I looked at it. (It's a little like those facebook memories that pop up when you have...

Huddled under our veranda on a cold rainy day I got my hubby to snap me a quick pic of this beautiful bright rainbow to remind me of something important.  Just moments before we had all been snuggled under blankets in the tv room watching some catch up shows when one of us glanced out the window to find this huge big beautiful rainbow silently standing front and centre in our garden. We had been completely oblivious to its beauty, all wrapped up in our show. Unfortunately my photo doesn't do it enough justice in capturing just how bright this rainbow was, or the fact that there were 2 other rainbows faintly behind it. It was breathtaking! It was beautiful enough to make us hit the pause button on the telly and run outside into the cold and wind to get a better look. Honestly, each one of us commented that it had to be the brightest rainbow we had ever seen. After we took the pic, the cold won out and we raced back inside to our comfy blankets and carried on watching where we left o...

  Psalm 119:105  "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." (NIV) "Truth's shining light guides me in my choices and decisions; the revelation of Your Word makes my pathway clear." (The Passion translation) No matter who I speak to or what I read, there's no two ways that 2020 has thrown us all a radical curve ball. I don't personally know anyone who hasn't had to negotiate major change this year. We have all had to readjust, make changes and sacrifices and get quiet to seek new ways forward. With that process comes perspective and for that I am grateful, because when you really start asking God to readjust your course or direction, He gives you a new lens to see life around you especially in times of uncertainty. I count my blessings that both my parents and my parents-in-grace have always taught me to allow the promises of God's Word to be the foundation in my journey through life. No matter what situation I find myself in, it neve...

What interesting days we are living in! 2020 sure is absolutely nothing like anything any one of us could ever have anticipated. I have to laugh thinking back at my excitement at the beginning of the year of choosing my diary for the year ahead. My husband always laughs at how excited I get to fill out a new diary. He's all tech savvy and I'm old school when it comes to pretty stationary and books. This particular diary may just be the prettiest one I've chosen to date, but it's also become the most least used one that I've ever owned. 😂 None the less ... as I was contemplating life today on day 133 of lockdown here in South Africa, I finally found the urge to start writing again. So here goes my current ponderings about lessons I'm learning in lockdown.  I'm calling this one "The Hidden Gift in a World set on Pause" ...  Reflection is an interesting lens to look through. It often highlights moments in our life where we wish we had done certain ...