Lockdown 614

Lockdown Day 614 - 30 November 2021

We had our tea with honey and almond rusks, sitting outside with Natasha early morning in the crisp Free State air. We said our goodbyes and left Bloem a little later after a couple of stops in town. Stocked with proper local produce, we took to the N1.

Brunch was the Big Cheese burger at Trompsburg's renowned Snobs Coffee Roasters where Willem and the crew were waiting with smiles and a smooth flat white.

It was my turn to drive from Colesberg and when I looked up after taking the road to Middelburg, there they were, once again: the cloud-wings! 🤩  Hanging just above the Karoo vista, the wings looked like feathers. My heart swelled, knowing like I know, God's with us.

The drive to PE was good and we arrived just before sunset. Our bodies tired from the drive, we spent the evening catching up on news and tending to urgent messages.

The good news about the dams warranted a little dance and a praise to heaven for God our provider has heard our pleading.

Kouga dam went from almost zero in July to 10.6%. Loerie dam is now 75.5%!!!!🙌

Still far from drought-breaking, the collective percentage is just over 14% availability, so the prayer walking continues. But this is a good start and we believe God will show His power and break the drought for good.

So tonight I offer up high praise for the Most High God, creator of everything. Thank you God for having this all in Your hands!

Lockdown 613

Lockdown Day 613 - 29 November 2021

And so we left Gauteng before the traffic hour and stopped over in Bloem for the rest of the day for personal business and meetings.

I had the opportunity to catch up on a couple of friends over deep conversations and good  coffee. Each one came with a feather right at the entrance.

First up was a Stereo Cafe and my long standing friend Celia. We spoke deeply about how 'that thing' between people spending time together is just gone because of less time, regulations and masks and mostly the anger, anxiety, fear and disappointment everyone is carrying with them. We decided we would call it an "aura".

Another Bulgarian friend came to greet us and very quickly also plunged into a pandemic related rendition of canceled flights, speaking of a teaching where auras grow or diminish either fueled by love, faith and nurturing peace ór anxiety, fear, etc. Wow.

I also enjoyed the conversations with my two namesakes, Michelle&Michelle, reminiscing about our forgotten Wednesday coffee dates in Izzy's absence and contemplating being iron women in a time such as this.

With the sun setting over Bloem, my friends Natasha and Hendrien treated me to a fabulous lasagne, pepperdew salad and warm portugese rolls. We mused over God's incredible unfailing presence, guidance and protection, help and unparalleled love.

We went to bed well into curfew; my heart was warm and my spirit full and all the things of the world had grown dim in the light of God's glory and grace I had felt from every friend's love.

Drifting off as the Free State night sky shone onto my pillow, I sighed with thanksgiving that God's got this!

Lockdown 612

Lockdown Day 612 - 28 November 2021

Sunday number 87. Tonight I share Job 26 as an image focus of the wondrous things of God:

Then Job responded and said: “How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the arm without strength!

How you have counseled the one without wisdom and revealed your abundant insights!

To whom have you uttered words? Whose spirit has come from your mouth?

“The dead tremble— those beneath the water and all that live in them.

Sheol is naked before Him; Abaddon has no covering.

He stretches out the north over the void; He suspends the earth over nothing.

He wraps up the waters in His clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under them.

He covers the face of the full moon, spreading His clouds over it.

He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters, for a boundary between light and dark.

The pillars of heaven tremble, astounded at His rebuke!

By His power He churns up the sea; by His understanding He smashed Rahab.

By His Ruach the heavens are clear; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

Indeed, these are but glimpses of His ways; how faint the whisper, we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of His might?”

How wonderful to know He's well and truly got this!

Lockdown 611

Lockdown Day 611 - 27 November 2021

As we enter wave number 4 , around us we hear of travel plans being canceled and loved ones trying to cope with yet another stricter lockdown looming over Christmas. All because of some new strain a few fully vaccinated people from a neighbouring country has brought into our country, making South Africa the black sheep....again.

All of us are thinking the same thing and asking the same questions. But most of all, everyone has reached a saturation point with all of it. Isolation for an abominable virus nobody could isolate to date. I predict all over the world the courts are going to get busier because of people who have had enough of having wool pulled over their eyes.

It doesn't matter what you believe, the Truth has a way of coming out.  World domination groups believe the global order is near, while the majority is running to comply with all the regulations. Conspiracy theorists are like virus jaywalkers and the 'pro-jabbers' keep on believing whatever the world feed posts next.

And every other person inbetween who find themselves between a rock and a hard place are just trying to do their best to survive.

For the most part these are the people who keep on keeping on, who view life in a different way. These are the people who see the little things outside the pandemic that matter, and who experience life wholeheartedly.

Wherever you find yourself, know this:

Jesus came to this world so we can have life to the full. He will come back to do what He promised, regardless of man and the antics of the world. And He definitely has got this for sure.

Lockdown 610

Lockdown Day 610 - 26 November 2021

Life is precious. Life is short. Life is a gift meant to be opened and enjoyed. Life has become a precious commodity in the last two years, one that we have learnt to value in ways we could never imagine. 

The life of one of South Africa's Afrikaans singers was celebrated today, following his passing earlier this week. The attendance of all the celebs from the industry not only illustrated the need for paying respect to this person, it also raised a question in my world.

Did everyone really have such a close relationship with him? And did they really pay attention to and spend time with him as close friends or family do?

Or is it regret that made them go? Although such an event has merit, to me it appears false, because only those who truly walked the path of life with him, knew the true value of his existence and the heart of this man.

Life is balanced with good and bad, highs and lows. When friends and family sit around a table enjoying a meal together, they celebrate life collectively. Gone is the rush of getting everything ready, sweeping floors and laying the table, disagreeing over petty things like serviettes and glasses. 

They look into each other's eyes and all talk together about memories made in the past and share their hearts. Some talk more and others less, but in the end the memory will linger as a life experience of note.

So tonight I celebrate the life of our nearest and dearest while I am still walking this earth. I want them to know how important they are now, at this moment in time, and how invaluable the gift of their life is to mine.

I do not want to wait until a funeral has to happen to let them know their impact on me and on life around them. So let's make sure we convey our message to these people in our life while we can..

#Ggt

Lockdown 609

Lockdown Day 609 - 25 November 2021

We left Colesberg just after 7, ready for the long haul to Gauteng, making a quick sightseeing stop at the Gariep dam. Once again the Free State vistas did not disappoint and the cool weather made our stops enjoyable.

The second pair of wings appeared in the clouds somewhere between the Gariep dam and Bloemfontein. At first I was stunned by the long drawn out feather-like clouds just above the horizon, accompanied by the setting moon. And for a long while, the scene stayed the same, looking more and more like the largest wingspan I have ever seen. How wonderful it is to know God is right here with us!

With heavy rain forecast for tonight, we drove into Gauteng watching the storm gather. God did indeed bring us home safely and the homecoming was sweet. So tonight, with the rain pounding down in buckets (oh, please can PE also get this too?) we fall asleep knowing God's got this.

Lockdown 608

Lockdown Day 608 - 24 November 2021

Today we left PE around lunch to travel to Pretoria. After stopping in Jansenville we arrived at our overnight accommodation in Colesberg.

The road took us through parts of the Eastern Cape that looked fairly dry with a touch of green, evidence of recent rainfall. The clouds hung dark and promising as far as we could see.

The landscape glided past, showcasing a spectacle of light and dark, white and silver. The sun looked like a shrouded moon as the clouds shielded its glare. The cloud shapes changed by the minute and I felt like a spectator at a laser show.

And then I saw what looked like a pair of wings in the clouds. Wondering if I should photograph them, I took a chance and got a good pic. And just like that, they were gone.

Looking up and doing cloud gazing reminded me again of God's promises of protection and provision and also His omnipotence and power.

So tonight, I offer up a prayer of thanks for the rain in the Eastern Cape's catchment areas. And I thank Him for covering us with His wings. And that He's still in control.

#Ggt

Lockdown 607

Lockdown Day 607 - 23 November 2021

About 75% of the conversations I heard while out people watching, were not meaningful and most people were in their own world of thought, easily distracted and completely switched off. To me it seemed silence would've been the better option in all those conversations.

When you actively decide to shut your mouth, you are actually more invested in the conversation and the person you are sharing time with. It is as if your hearing is amplified when you force close your speech.

Learning to do that is a challenge for most people, even the introverts and the quiet ones.

Another conversation nuance is the depth of your relationship and even in these, important things get lost in translation. When you need to zoom out, treat the conversation as a silent zone and you will find zooming back in becomes easier.

You see, in a world of tech where everything happens at lightning speed, there is no time to pause or stop. Truth is, pauses and gaps are what really give meaning to the essence of conversation.

In his book "How We Talk", Nick Enfield suggests humans mostly follow the "no gap, no pause" method. The brain can formulate an answer or statement in 600 milliseconds, and takes only 200 milliseconds to react in a conversation turn-around (when the other person pauses).

The trick is to harness the brain's genius and install an automatice pause button on it, ready to use when released.

So, this learning curve continues while God's still got this.

Lockdown 606

Lockdown Day 606 - 22 November 2021

Starting a sentence with the word "how" immediately suggests a question is being posed, which constitutes some kind of answer or solution. The only problem is, language is more intricate than that and the finer nuances of a conversation need to be "read".

So today I am doing a little people watching (and maybe listening😉) again. Among other things, I am gearing up to go for a long desired sea swim the moment the waning vertigo has left for good.

So I decided to visit the surf shop. Interesting place, a surf shop. People of all ages visit the shop to browse, chat with the owner, book surfing lessons, ask advice, and also the owners of the adjacent shops popping in to say hello.

I also got a coffee at the nearby cycle shop, frequented by all kinds of athletes, which, after the Ironman, was abuzz with all the who's who.

And I got plenty of "how" questions and saw different people interpret those language nuances. Some never get that a question is asked. Most of the "askers" seemed as if they didn't ask to be answered.

It turned out to be a learning curve of note and I shall continue with this topic tomorrow.

What I know for sure is the times we are living in has changed the way we interact with each other. Fortunately, talking to God hasn't.

So tonight I offer up a prayer of thanks to God for being eternally changeless, the only constant in an ever changing world. And for having this firmly in His hand.

Lockdown 605

Lockdown Day 605 - 21 November 2021

Sunday number 86.

With the main Ironman event happening today, we got a roadside seat at our favourite coffee spot, Indulge coffee. The wind was already over 35km per hour and picking up, while the swimmers were just leaving the ocean after a shortened swim due to bad swells.

Relieved I wasn't competing, we settled down to watch the last of the cycles take off on their 180km gruelling race in the monster wind. After a smooth  Indulge flat white, we decided to brave the wind and walk along the seaside while waiting for the competitors to come back and start the last part of the contest: a 42 km run.

The first professional athletes arrived on their cycles just after 11am, accompanied by a helicopter. We left for lunch and a siesta, and went back later to find all the contestants now running. Some were facing cut-off points, extreme fatigue and legs feeling as if they belong to someone else, and many already crippled into a walk.

The men's race was won by Maurice Clavel in a time of 7h30min30s and the ladies' race won by Ruth Astle in 8h38min32s. The race started at 06:30 and is still going strong, last cut-off time will be at 22:00 tonight!

After dozens of problems and postponements it was good to see this sterling event put up in the end and we look forward to next year's event on the original time of year 2-3 April 2022.

Here, then, are a couple of pics of this epic race in the Bay:

#Ggt

Lockdown 604

Lockdown Day 604 - 20 November 2021

Ironman weekend in the Bay. Today was the Corporate race. We decided to go and see what all the fuss is about. The usual vibe, according to the locals, was absent due to regulations because of the abominable virus.

The Bay was grey, as if mourning the absence of supporters and the boomboxing stalls that used to line the route.

The athletes were doing their thing as the weather went from near unpleasant to bearable. Supporters and spectators were few with most people finding shelter in all the beach front restaurants.

After calling it a day, we took a drive on the flyover past the harbour where we saw one of Höegh Autoliners docked in the harbour.

The loading dock was overflowing with all the locally assembled Volkswagen Polo cars for export. These ships can carry a load of between 2300 and 8500 vehicles and looks like a floating high rise parkade, with roughly the area of 10 soccer fields inside.

As I drift off, I see this floating parkade traveling the world's seas with its precious cargo. I wonder if this is how my brain also takes in my world everyday, on- and off loading information while being human. I silently thank God for these small mercies. And for having it all under control.

#Ggt

Lockdown 603

Lockdown Day 603 - 19 November 2021

While watching the earth's shadow move across the moon today, I felt goosebumps from head to toe. I was looking at a shadow of the planet I was currently on. It's the only way we can see earth for ourselves. Pictures are great, but are a secondhand rendition of reality in 2D which seem a tad unreal.

As the shadow moved, it felt surreal standing on that very surface, not feeling the ground moving, although I can see it physically moving.

I suddenly felt small and insignificant in light of this grandiose display involving my planet and the great lights. The 'firmament', as the Word calls it, is just such a huge, incomprehensible expanse!

I was mesmerised and was repeatedly drawn back to the live event throughout that 6 hours. And then it hit me: It was because I felt incredibly close to God triune. Close enough to try and understand His greatness, but also hear His heart beat, the rhythm of the heavens.

All day long, as I walked I was super aware of my feet touching this planet's surface. The seemingly "weightlessness" of it all impressed upon my heart how light and de-light-ful it should be to walk in His presence.

So tonight I share Psalm 37:4-6 as a prayer:

"Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday."

God's got this for sure.

Lockdown 602

Lockdown Day 602 - 18 November 2021

As promised I share below two links for the lunar eclipse which will happen aporoximately 8am tomorrow morning GMT+2 time for everyone in the Southern African region. 

The first link is the information page with everything about the eclipse and if you scroll to the bottom you will find the hours counting down:

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2021-november-19

An eclipse occurs when the earth moves between the sun and the moon, casting it's shadow on the moon. This eclipse is deemed to be somewhat of a special happening due to the time span it will cover of more than 6 hours, of which the moon will spend over 3 hours moving through the darkest part of the earth's shadow, also called the umbra. This is the longest partial eclipse since 1441.

Seeing the earth's shadow physically cast on the moon is also an incredible sight, because we have a chance to "see" our planet physically moving. What a sight to behold!!

So here is the link to the live event:👇

https://youtu.be/80uMSAWogjo

So if you can, join the broadcast and have a look at the lights of the sky doing their thing. And while you are watching, think about Genesis 1 and the incredible power of our Creator. I pray you will experience His presence and know He's got this.

Lockdown 601

Lockdown Day 601 - 17 November 2021

Doing something consistently for a long time takes a dogged determination and an inexplicable driving force. To keep going at all odds even when the challenge sometimes seems insurmountable, is commendable.

It drives us to dig deep while learning more about ourselves. Being passionate is wonderful untill your passion drives you into the daily grind.

It is in that transition to make the passion a reality, that the everyday mundane things become the nuggets of gold making every little step worth taking.

So if you are on the verge of giving up because "it's taking too long" or "it's not fun anymore" or "I've lost my courage" etc., remember this and diarise the date.

This is where you bog down, don't over-think it and just keep going. You will know when you come across the first nugget. Diarise those too. They are your fuel to drive you where you need to go.

Just look at Colonel Sanders of KFC. Harland Sanders wasn't just a mascot on a billboard. He was 62 years old when he franchised the KFC company in 1952.

And the creator of Marvel comics such as The Fantastic Four, Spiderman and X-men, Stan Lee, only drew his first comic when he was 39 years old.

So tonight I salute anyone who has been at it a long time. You are made for a time such as this. You know who you are. Keep going. Because you are one of a kind. Let God do the thinking, because He's got this.

Lockdown 600

Lockdown Day 600 - 16 November 2021

Day 600. Wow. I can hardly believe it. Looking at this number, I realised we are 130 days from 2 years of lockdown. 

600 Days from today will be 9 July 2023. 

After posting the creation scripture of Genesis 1, I remembered the story of a little boy, who was a believer, who tried in vain to convince his uncle of God's existence.

Knowing he wanted a red bicycle for his birthday, the uncle offered to buy him the bicycle on condition that he could prove from the Bible the moon wasn't made of cheese, hoping to get him off his back.

The next time the boy saw his uncle, he said he had found proof. The uncle sat down as the boy proceeded to read Genesis 1. When he got to the part where the animals were created on day 6, he stopped.

The uncle said, "So?" to which the boy replied, "Cheese is made from milk, right?" The uncle nodded, clearly bored. "And milk comes from a cow, right?" Again, the uncle nodded, ready to end this conversation.

And then the boy said, "Well, uncle, if the cow was created on day 6, after the moon was created on day 4, it definitely cannot be made of cheese!" 🤣

This is actually a true story. And yes, the boy got his red bicycle, with a red bow tied to the handles. But he also got another gift he didn't expect. His uncle found God and gave his heart to Jesus.

Who would've thought the creation story, from the mouth of a babe about a cow and the moon, would showcase God to an unbeliever!

So tonight, if you have trouble keeping the faith, look up and read Genesis 1. At the very least, you might learn from it God's really got this.

Lockdown 599

Lockdown Day 599 - 15 November 2021

The upcoming partial Lunar eclipse is on the 19th, this coming Friday. It will only be visible for certain countries in the Northern Hemisphere, sadly not in South Africa. However, I will report on it in my Friday post and hopefully be able to add photographs.

In the meantime, this eclipse has sparked other thoughts about the time when God created the universe. When trying to find the photographs for yesterday's image focus, I was really  frustrated with all the search results which came up about witches, 'dark' religions and all kinds of negative connotations and artwork.

It  enraged my heart and spirit to see how God's creation is mangled and misrepresented as some kind of mystical object from the underworld with absolutely no mention whatsoever about Godly intention for its existence.

So I decided to share the creation facts from Genesis 1. In verses 1 to 13 it is written how, on days one to three, God spoke light into existence, created heavens, sky, seas, dry land and plants. Here, then, is verse 14-19, the fourth day of creation:

"Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night;

and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.

Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.

God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth,

and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness.

And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day."

God's got this.

Lockdown 598

Lockdown Day 598 - 14 November 2021

Sunday number 85.

With a partial Lunar eclipse on the way this week (more about that tomorrow), the image focus today will be on beautiful and extraordinary moon photography. Enjoy:

#Ggt