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Showing posts from August, 2020

About Me

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Janine Claire Robinson
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Welcome to my little writing corner. I count my many blessings to be a cherished wife and an ever-learning-loving-growing mother to 3 amazing children this side of Heaven and a precious little boy in Heaven. Together as a family we pastor a precious church community called Redeeming Hope Church. I've had the privilege of loving and following Jesus Christ since my earliest memories as a child. No matter what I've gone through in life, He has always been so present. At heart, I'm an encourager ... so this is a place where I get to wear my heart on my sleeve and share my journey of learning to live a life of love in action.

Taking in the wins

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

Chasing rainbows ...

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

When things get personal

  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

The hidden gift in a world set on pause

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