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.