Lockdown 537

Lockdown Day 537 - 14 September 2021

Oh joy, oh joy, at the end of daylight today, we measured a slow 18 mm of rain which fell overnight and throughout the day. Not even the cold weather will dampen my spirit or silence my gratitude, and with more to come, I am planning to change the lockdown dance to a rain dance. C'mon!

Speaking of which, I did some digging and sadly found all the thousands of articles on rain dances tell of people trusting ancient gods and superstitions to 'make' rain. In the Bible it was told the Israelites, who were farmers, believed if they obey God He will bless them with abundance.  Also, when things turned bad, their repentance did indeed release blessing.

I think the point here, is to be joyful in our trust and faith. David danced with all his might. Why? Because no matter what, he knew God walked with him. Not because he was worthy, but because God loved him. I wonder how things would've turned out, had the Israelites entered Canaan in blind faith the first time they got there? In stead of believing what they saw and what people had told them, would it have been such a bad thing to just not make their own decisions and rather believe the God who has proven He's got it?

Blessing happens when blind faith (together with repentance) turns to joy and dancing before the Lord. Even if people say whatever, even when the chances look bleak, it still is better to dance!

Now, about the Jerusalema Dance Challenge. Although it has its origin many years ago in Zimbabwe, the Angolans issued the lockdown challenge last year as an incentive for all groups to overcome the lack of exercise and positive attitude due to restricted movement worldwide. Portugal followed suit and before long everyone was in. In South Africa it particularly became a symbol of unity, hope and joy, enjoyed across age, race and political barriers.

So, while I work on my Jerusalema dancing skills, I share with you the epic Plettenberg Bay Dance World record attempt:

https://youtu.be/E5YEVURAeRM

I chose this dance because it inspires and induces healing processes through the spirit-mind-body connection. Because It builds faith in the One who's got this.

#bechallenged

Lockdown 536

Lockdown Day 536 - 13 September 2021

Today's occasional drizzle here in the windy city saw the real feel temperature plummet. I started off with my planned re-think of my closet.

After conducting a brain racking, frustrating morning trying to sort out my closet in such a way so I can access clothes for all seasons on hand, I ended up with a less than organised space KonMari would not approve of.

Having a couple of errands to attend to, I walked out the door, only to realise the deep of winter had come back and I was in no way dressed to resist that kind of cold. Standing in front of my closet, I had to remember where I put what, and eventually left the house looking like an eskimo.

Now don't get me wrong, I love winter and the cold, but when I decide to embrace the season and I feel like Pippi Longstocking, the day just ends up being weird. To my surprise, wherever I went, I saw people in all kinds of outfits, silent witness to the same process I have just went through at home.

We go to bed tonight with a steady patter on the window, hopeful to wake tomorrow to see a substantial amount of rain in our gauge. For that I am prepared to look like something from Alaska. Thanking God for the full dams, I fall asleep with my hoodie pulled over my nose.

#Ggt

Lockdown 535

Lockdown Day 535 - 12 September 2021

Sunday number 77. Scenes of the beautiful  Baviaanskloof. Enjoy!

#Ggt

Lockdown 534

Lockdown Day 534 - 11 September 2021

So our Saturday outing became a Baviaans excursion. We decided to take on the 198km route between Patensie and Willowmore, with a sleepover at Verlorenrivier.  We were told it would take roughly 4-5 hours traveling time on the narrow ups and downs through the area, which included the Baviaans Nature Reserve.

To me, it was once again as much a spiritual experience as it was a travel delight. Even the so called 4x4 parts were easily negotiated by hubby and our faithful Toyota. The vegetation changed from soft yellow bellowing bushes to amazing scenes of the blooming Waboom, a member of the protea family.

We were also lucky to see a male and female bushbuck.  They are the evasive ghosts of the bush and a rare sight. We managed to take a picture of the female just as she skitted off.

The incredible scenes of contrast in this drought stricken area really touched us as we drove through occasional greenery and fresh water pools, contrasted by hungry monkeys stripping off and eating the bark of young trees due to the shortage of food.

On the way out of the reserve, we also heard of a leopard holding one of the reserve's guards hostage in their little office at the gate.

We arrived at Verlorenrivier with the day temperature on 34 °C, and a dismal wind bringing in dust from Willowmore.  When the wind subsided at sunset, we managed to just finish our dinner on the fire as the wind suddenly turned cold, coming from the opposite direction out of the gorge.

With the words of the Messianic blessing in mind, I ask God to bless the Baviaanskloof, Langkloof and adjacent dry areas, the Loerie dam and the Kouga dam with the most water they have ever seen. Because He's got this.

Lockdown 533

Lockdown Day 533 - 10 September 2021

Today I decided to put the smile theory to the test wherever I went. I realised it was much more difficult than I could've ever imagined..... the masks! 🤦🏼‍♀️

This limited the number of people actually seeing  the smile to restaurants, fuel stations,  drive-through fast food facilities and housemates.

It is true that the smile is partly for yourself and thus it doesn't matter whether you smile behind your mask. Today in a supermarket I noticed people's eyes while walking past me. Most people never looked me in the eyes, but the one or two that did make eye contact, actually looked as if they were smiling.

So, if the eyes are the new facial expressors, we should use it and try to get the message across through eye contact. I have to say, after two shops I felt really tired and a little despondent after only two people returned the gesture (or at least, that is what I thought I saw).

Wondering about the world of a young child in terms of body language, I realised this pandemic is training us all to discern facial expression by only "reading" eyes. Judging by the rest of the world, it might still be a while before faces will be "whole" again.

Still racking my brain on how the smile theory can be successful, I thank God for the gift of vision. And for my very own acronym for SMILE = SIMPLE MOST INSPIRING LIFT of EMOTIONS. Tomorrow I will start finding new ways to lift emotions.

#Ggt

Lockdown 532

Lockdown Day 532 - 9 September 2021

These past 4 days I visited with one of my namesake friends from Bloem, Michelle C.  What a lovely time we had as we visited new and old favourite places and caught up on all the goings-on in our respective lives. We reminisced about those Wednesday coffees we used to have @Stereo with Michelle E and Izzy. Travel safely my friend!

The wind picked up speed throughout the afternoon, fuelling our hope for the blessing of rain. With another cold front forecast next week, hot weather is looming for tomorrow and well into the weekend.

My super organised KonMari-style closet will need a re-think as my summer clothes will slowly have to be unpacked. As always, spring is somewhat of a mourning process for my body.  But hopefully the next cold front will be a double whammy in the form of rain and cold to start summer off with lower temperatures.

As I drift off to sleep, I hear the wind plucking heavily at everything from the windows to the doors. I thank God for life and friends, loved ones and time together, for my 5 senses in this season changing time and for restful sleep while He stands guard over us.

#Godsgotthis

Lockdown 531

Lockdown Day 531 - 8 September 2021

Today I came across the acronym of the word NEWS.

It stands for North, East, West, South. It was written on a sign outside a stationery shop. This made me wonder about acronyms and anagrams.

Acronyms are defined as an initial abbreviation which can be pronounced as a word and of which each letter represents a word describing the actual acronym. It can also be pronounced as letters such as FBI. Here are a few:

~ SCUBA = Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

~ RADAR = Radio Detecting And Ranging

~LASER = Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

~ CAPTCHA (a string of characters you are often asked  to copy online to prove you are not a robot) = Completely Automated Public test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart

~ NEWSPAPER (unofficial acronym, but nevertheless brliant) = North East West South Past And Present Event Report

An anagram is a word, phrase or sentence formed from another through the rearranging of its letters, for example debit card = bad credit. If you haven't smiled today, the following anagrams might do the trick:

~ Eleven plus two = Twelve       

   plus one

~ Astronomer = Moon starer

~ School master = The classroom

~ Listen = Silent

~ A gentleman = Elegant man

~ The Morse Code = Here come dots

~ Dormitory = Dirty room

~ Slot Machines = Cash lost in me

~ Conversation = Voices rant on

~ The eyes = They see

Wordsmithing is one way of proving we have been designed with a neuroplastic brain that can think innovatively.

So tonight I fall asleep with a smile on my face, thankful for countless blessings I overlook so often.

#Ggt