Lockdown 523

Lockdown Day 523 - 31 August 2021

Before I went public with diary of a brain (this blog), I was running another called diary of a coffee snob, where I occasionally wrote about my coffee experiences. Since then I have written about coffee here, and will continue doing so.

This blog has also been a daily account of what I hear, see, feel, think, experience, taste and muse about on that particular day. Therefore "planned content writing" as it is known to all social media moguls, does not apply. Except for the image focus on Sundays, what you read is what was in my brain that day.

Today I visited Death by Coffee Roastery in PE I have been driving past ever since we arrived here. I stopped for a takeaway on Friday to taste their Flat White and I met Rushka (aka Mama Coffee), Chantal and Zoë.

Today I also had an interlude with Chestnut (her name is actually Roasty Bean Lilly Mueller Chestnut Oui Johnson😅) , the roastery's tiny little kitten.

The flat white had a full rounded strong and slightly bitter flavour, exactly the way I like my flat white. It was topped with just the right amount of micro foam and served in a double walled glass cup to stay warm.

Rushka definitely understands coffee, with attention to temperature and made with love. You guys rock!

So tonight, while the wind is plucking at the windows and occasional raindrops tapping against the glass, I thank God for people who cross my path with Him and for His incredible social media skills at work in my life. And that He's got this.

Lockdown 522

Lockdown Day 522 - 30 August 2021

Yesterday our varsity friends took us on an outing to Baviaanskloof, which is directly adjacent to the Langkloof. We had a late breakfast at Padlangs, a well known Country Restaurant in Patensie.

After coffee, we left to take a drive into the gorge itself,  following a dirt road next to the Kouga river, which is the feeding artery for the Kouga dam. Being able to actually see the area and the river, evoked many emotions and I felt God's presence in a tangible way.

It was as if my spirit was feeling the drought in a completely different way while we were driving in the beautiful gorge. In a sense I felt as if I was becoming one with the place, and at the risk of sounding like an earth whisperer, tapping into the very ground God created.

The trip left me totally astounded and determined to pray for rain, more than ever, but also to start thanking God for the rain. We have been given the power to call it, based on what God tells us in His Word.

"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says." Mark 11:23

"God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did" Romans 4:17b

Because God's really got this.

Lockdown 521

Lockdown Day 521 - 29 August 2021

Sunday number 75. Time for some funnies. Enjoy!

#Ggt

Lockdown 520

Lockdown Day 520 - 28 August 2021

The forecast cold weather arrived on the wind last night. We woke to a monster wind and a little bit of sun, with otherwise partly overcast skies. After stocking up on padkos, we set off to Addo National Elephant park, hoping to see more Ellies this time.

Once in the park, I remarked that maybe this is Ellie weather just like the whales love playing in stormy seas. My words were still hanging when we saw Ellies galore! And of course a little bebe  or three. We also saw some Hartbeest and many Zebras and spectacular views of Algoa bay on the high ground lookouts.

Although rain seemed far off, the reports of freezing weather and snow as far as Hilton in KZN were coming in. It started raining around 4pm in PE and we hope it will continue, as we need full dams! Our Municipality have lowered the water pressure across the city to discourage wastage as Kouga dam faces day zero.

So tonight we sit under blankets, listening to the sound of showering rain and wind outside.  We watched as South African Track and Field para-athletes Ntando Mahlangu and Anruné Weyers, both won gold! Mahlangu won the long jump with a winning world record distance of 7.17m, and Anruné powered her way to gold in the Women's 400m. Well done team SA!

So tonight please pray with us for drought breaking rains and floods, which in itself would be miraculous!

#prayforrain

#Ggt

Lockdown 519

Lockdown Day 519 - 27 August 2021

Part of the impression the paralympic athletes have made on me, had to do with us, who are designed for greatness, and our seeming ignorance or, shall I say, blatant defiance of what's inside of us, screaming to get out and be great.

I believe part of the reason we haven't let out that greatness is because we don't really know how and fear dissapointing ourselves. Interacting with ourselves is the single most daunting act for any person.

I am convinced that whatever the athletes went through to get where they are now, included self-examination and the confronting of fears.

So if your spirit needs a kick start, take stock of your Godly design and release your spirit to stand up and take control.

God showcases His power in many ways through His creation.

It's up to us to amplify this through our life as the created.

#Ggt

Lockdown 518

Lockdown Day 518 - 26 August 2021

While prepping some veg for dinner later today, I decided to tune into the Paralympics Tokyo20. Swimming was on the menu, which I love, of course.

But nothing could have prepared me for this session. I watched how people from all kinds of disability classifications got into a pool and swam their hearts out, some for medals and others who qualified just to experience the moment. What hit me the most was the mixed relay. The teams comprised of two men and two women.

All the teams were in the disability classifications S6, SB5, SM6 and have different types of disabilities including short stature, major limb impairment or loss of two limbs. This includes amputees, dwarfs and people with cerebral palsy. 3 Of Team China, who won gold, were swimmers who had no arms, only legs.

What I saw, blew my mind. They torpedoed through the water at a mind boggling speed, lifting their heads as if they had arms and powered on by their super, almost motorised kicking action. I was in tears, not only for these amazing men and women, but for the total defiance of what is deemed as impossible by the rest of the able bodied world.

I believe most of these athletes are more "together" than any able bodied person and that us "normal" people fall extremely short of this mindset. They have pushed aside their amygdala's hunger for bad news and chose to saturate it with the I can, I will  attitude.

Wow. Celebrating one's body in such a way that God is glorified for designing that kind of resilient spirit, is nothing short of miraculous. What an inspiration!

Suddenly the issues of day to day life seem niggly.

So tonight I pray for humankind, for the attitude of an S6 athlete. This makes this pandemic seem insignificant because the God who creates such pure hearts is bigger than this abominable virus. And He's definitely got this.

Lockdown 517

Lockdown Day 517 - 25 August 2021

Joy in all circumstances is extremely difficult for most people. Human nature will first gravitate to the negative before switching to the positive. It is called "the negativity bias".

Julia Roberts’ character, Vivian, said in the movie Pretty Woman (1990), “The bad stuff is easier to believe. You ever notice that?” Her character was right, and one of the reasons for this is a predisposition of primitive cave-people genetics to view any crisis as a life or death happening because, back then, it really was.

Another reason is the amygdala, that almond shaped structure (a little clump of cells) in the brain, whose job it is to use two-thirds of its neurons to search for bad news . Have you ever wondered why a person can have a wonderful day with a friend but end up being upset by a small irrelevant remark the friend made?

The reason for that has been proved by amygdala research which found it to immediately process negative experiences, whereas positive events need to be held in awarenes for 12 seconds or more to be actually saved from the short term to long term memory.

According to Kenneth Yaeger, the "good news is we can override this genetic hand we've been dealt, by taking care how we talk to ourselves about our experiences, cultivating a gentle, curious and patient attitude with yourself."

So let's evaluate our experiences and value the ones that have a positive effect and take care to immediately deal with the negative ones by changing their category to "holding cell to be objectively discarded".

Appreciate life and develop the ability to see the negativity bias coming and the wisdom to give the amygdala a stronger positive replacement.

God has designed us to be flexible and neuroplastic, giving us a choice. Use it!

#Ggt

Lockdown 516

Lockdown Day 516 - 24 August 2021

Still on the topic of living with an expectation of wonder, I realise the new buzz phrase in the moment is applicable here. Living with this expectation constitutes finding the wonder, seeing and verifying the wonder and then being mindful of that moment you do.

This is not about hoping something wondrous will come your way, but rather choosing to see the wonder on purpose.

There is an interesting story about someone who rents a room in a 3 bedroom penthouse belonging to one of the other inhabitants. She tells of how she had been living there for nearly a year after the pandemic hit, forced to work from home.

One day, on her way down the passage with her coffee (something she had done numerous times), she noticed a door in the passage. Stunned, she stopped and shook her head, not believing this. How could she not have noticed this since she had moved in?

Returning to her laptop, she put her coffee down. She returned to the door. After inspecting it, she realised it looked just like all the other doors and seemed used, not new. Puzzled, she just stood there.

Finally, she opened the door. It was a closet housing all kinds of household items such as candles, linen, vases, etc. She closed the door and went back to her desk. Sitting down, she just couldn't accept that she had absolutely no memory of ever seeing the door or its contents.

If she had been looking for the wonder around her, she might have seen this door the day she moved in. Looking out for the wondrous little finds is an active process of staying focused in the moment so you don't miss them.

This is what it means to walk in faith and have your eyes peeled at the same time. So let's look for the wonder in our walk with God on this earth, today and now, in this moment. Because through our faith in Him we see the Wonder of the Life He has given us. And because He's got this.

Lockdown 515

Lockdown Day 515 - 23 August 2021

Time is a relative concept. If you look back on your own life, be it 18 or 80, remembering your journey and who walked with evokes the same emotions as going on a long roadtrip to destinations you haven't been before.

Including the discovery phase of wows and aaahhhs you start settling into a rhythm, proving the adaptability of humans in any situation. Moreover, your enthusiasm and expectations of have a good relaxing time usually delivers in spades, resulting in you raving about what a wonderful holiday it was.

Seeing and experiencing things for the fist time has a wonderful effect on the psyche. There is also that thing of "seeing unconsciously" which provides newness and surprise to everyday life.

Let me explain:

Say you travel the same road everyday, but never see a particular sign board along the way until someone mentions it. That surprise when you finally drive by the next day, adds new perspective and "brain-pickup", causing a fresh and upbeat way to look at your everyday life.

So let's try getting up each day with the expectation of wonder. Summon that everything-new feeling of anticipation and muchness, and do the day thát way. Maybe, in the end, we will start raving about what a wonderful life we have.

#God's got this

Lockdown 514

Lockdown Day 514 - 22 August 2021

Sunday number 74.

Tonight's image focus is an art combo featuring all kinds of 3D mind juggling art. Enjoy:

#Ggt