There’s One Thing About Mike…

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Helga

7-24am

Quite personal, this is, but I’ll say it anyway! There’s one thing about Mike that has always endeared me to him. It’s not something I can identify with; neither is it something that I feel I can jump in and participate in. But it is something I will always admire in him. It is how he treats the poor. When it comes to the poor in Cape Town, I feel like Paul when he says in Romans 7:15 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do”. South Africa’s traffic lights seem to be the domain of beggars and sellers wanting something. We live in a society of ‘car guards’ and needy souls who sit outside shopping centres, rubbing their stomachs in hunger and asking for us to buy food for them.  Then, we also have a stream of shabbily dressed, young, unemployed men who ring our doorbell at all times of the day (up to 10pm at night). They come with stories of hardship and suffering. They weave tales of ill health, hunger, misfortune and funerals. We seem to be approached on every side, multiple times a day and it, for me and for Mike becomes wearisome and challenging. The difference between Mike & I is that he pushes through the discomfort and helps the person. We sometimes have joked that he has a heart for the poor and I have a heart for the rich! I prefer to help someone who I can identify with! While I am inclined to waive away the beggar at my car window, Mike opens his, makes eye contact, asks the person’s name, gives a coin, smiles and says, ‘God bless you!’ Oh how small he makes me feel. What he does is good. He does what he does not want to do.  “It is a gift,” I say. But Mike disagrees. He says “it is not easy”. He says “I also don’t like it”. He says, “I have to force myself to do the right thing, because I feel it is my Christian duty.”

There’s one thing I know for sure, it doesn’t matter where you go in the world, as Jesus said, the poor you will always have with you. We encountered many of them in Europe…sitting on church steps, hands stretched out, on sidewalks with hats ready to receive, outside parks, with meagre belongings…

Homeless in MarseillesWords of Jesus: “The poor you will always have with you…” Matthew 26:11. How we respond to them is the challenge. Mike isn’t perfect, but having lived with him for 27 years (& 4 months!), he has been consistent in his attempts to reach out to those less fortunate than himself and to try and make a difference in their lives. He’s a great example. It makes me want to do better!  But I am slow in learning and stubborn hearted! Writing about it is actually good for me. Today, no doubt there will be another opportunity to look a needy person in the eye, smile, treat him/her as a unique individual, made in God’s image & take an interest. Maybe, if I’m prepared, I’ll have food or a coin to make a difference to their day. Proverbs 19:17 has always struck a cord with me:

“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward them for what they have done.”

Kindness!  I’m sure I can be kind!

On a different “note”…here’s another pic of Truffles, stretched out on the piano, enjoying a bit of sunshine..

Truffs on the piano stretched outShe was very woozy after all those shots the other day, but has bounced back and is now looking fine.

I’m off to enjoy a beautiful sunny day in Cape Town.

God bless you!

In His Grip,

Helga xx :-)

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5 Nervous Minutes…

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Helga

6-30am

I have put this off for a few months. Too scared to do it, but something I had to face up to. It should have been done prior to our holiday! Eventually, after I had psyched myself up for the worst, I took the plunge and made an appointment with the vet for my sweet Truffles cat. She is thin and has not been thriving. Not knowing if she was vaccinated against the feline dreaded diseases, I was petrified Truffles keeping my bed warmthat she had contracted them. Once a cat has got cat aids or cat leukaemia, there is no cure. The kindest thing to do is to have them euthenaised.
Yesterday was the appointment. I was a little more positive, because she seemed to be a bit heavier after we dewormed her and I started feeding her daily cat vitamin pills. I put her in the cat cage and with her wailing piteously, I  took her to the vet.  As I drove, I glanced at the Bible verse in my car. Psalm 34:4 “I sought the Lord and He answered me and He delivered me from all my fears.” Oh wow. It was absolutely a verse for that moment in time. My main fear was I would have to have Truffs put down! “Lord,” I prayed, ‘thank you that I can seek You and that You will deliver me from all my fears.”

I arrived at the vet and in we went for our appointment. I told the vet my concerns and she took Truffles off for the blood tests. Then I waited. After several minutes, the vet returned with Truffles, weighed her and then invited me back into the consulting room. She said, ‘it’s looking good at the moment”, and pointing to the test on the counter top, she added, “we just have to wait five more minutes.”I glanced down at the all important test strip.

FIV-FeLV-Negative“What’s spose to happen?” I asked. “It gets a second line,” she answered. She reassured me that it usually has come up by now, but we just had to wait a little longer. She asked me if I wanted her vaccinated and I said yes. She left the room to get the muti for the immunisation. I picked Truffles up and went back to the test. No second line. Reassuring Truffles of her continued life on earth, I kept an eye on it. The minutes ticked slowly by. The vet returned and set about preparing the three injections for Truffles. Now I was confident. “Yes!” said the vet, “It’s seems she’s completely negative.” “Thank you Jesus,” I said out loud. But just to let her know I wasn’t just using the Lord’s Name frivolously, I mentioned the Bible verse. She said nothing.

With Truffles, vaccinated, properly dewormed  and deflea’ed we paid the bill and left.

So what if the test had been positive?  The last cat I took to that vet, was a stray we had taken in, and WAS  riddled with both diseases. We had him put down, bought him home and buried him in the back garden. It was one of the reasons I was so nervous. That was a heartbreaking day. It’s not easy losing a pet. Seeing death happen is ugly. It was not part of God’s plan in the first place. It was only because of the fall of man that death came. But I believe that one day there will be no more death. The world as we know it will end. I believe there is life after death. Will there be animals in that ‘afterlife’. Absolutely! We read in Isaiah 11:6 “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them”. I don’t have all the answers and I don’t understand all the suffering on earth, but I do believe in God and that He reached out to us in His Son Jesus Christ. I believe Jesus is God the Messiah, long awaited by the people of Israel. I believe that He came in human form and died for us. Because I believe, I am confident that one day, even though my body dies, my soul will continue to live. And so I keep trusting & thanking God, in all situations, in the hard times and in the happy times!

Truffles God bless you!

In His Grip,

Helga (& Truffles!) xx :-)

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What Set Nelson Mandela Apart From Other World Leaders

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Helga

6-33am

Nelson Mandela  made an impact on this world in a way few others have. What set him apart from other world leaders was the fact that he suffered at the hands of an oppressive government system, was jailed for his beliefs, had every reason to be bitter and hateful, but responded with love and forgiveness.

In my limited knowledge of others who have suffered and forgiven in our era, I need to reach for the story of Corrie Ten Boom. Incarcerated in the Ravensbruck Concentrate Camp during WW2, she was released one week before female prisoners  of her age were executed. She had every reason to hate the people who had done this to her. On platforms across the world, she offered forgiveness to ten-Boom_Corriethem. Yes, she spoke forgiveness, but did she ever show it on a personal level. It’s easy to say things from the stage – it’s a different thing to live them. Read this poignant  excerpt from “The Hiding Place” of a post-war encounter of one of the brutal officers who had mocked her while she was in the shower room at the concentration camp:

“It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, a former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face.

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein.” He said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!” His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I prayed, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.”

Love and forgiveness. These things come from the heart of God. And it is God Himself who offers them to us on a personal level, if we will accept them from Him. He loves us, so we can love others. He forgives us, so we can forgive others.

And so today, as you watch the memorial service of Nelson Mandela and are reminded of his amazing love and forgiveness, do not worship the man who expressed them, but worship the God who gave them. You can know God, through Jesus Christ, who is the Author of Life, Love & Forgiveness.

1 John 4:7

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Living with integrityGod bless you!

In His Grip,

Helga xx :-)

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Help is Needed!

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Helga

7-33am

A beautiful new day and it’s an early gym workout for me! After that, there are a few things on the agenda. Shopping to be done. I am in the blessed position to have been given R1500 to spend on baby clothes for 17 children under 2 years old who were badly affected in a fire on Saturday morning.  Karen took this photo of some of the devastation…

Masi fireIf you have any children’s clothes, you can drop them off at Living Hope, Kommetjie Road, just after the Capri turn off.  You can email info@livinghope.co.za or visit their website at www.livinghope.co.za They will ensure each item of clothing gets to the people who need it most. They had a huge amount donated yesterday, but there is a critical shortage of items for children under the age of two, so if you can help, please do so. With the monetary donation I have received, it will only buy about 2 items each, so it’s not going to go very far. Even if Living Hope get too much, it won’t be wasted. There will always be children in need. This is a great opportunity for you to do  clear out ahead of Christmas.

For those of you outside of South Africa, you can donate to Living Hope on their website. The fire occurred in an informal settlement in my area, where most of the houses are shacks, very close together. Fires & candles are regularly lit as a source of  cooking,  heating and lighting and often are the cause of fires.

Masi on a sunny day

Please help! That’s my plea for you today!

Sometimes messages pop up from the most unlikely places in the Bible. As it is close to the end of the year, I have arrived at the minor prophets of the Old Testament. Going back to basics, Hosea 12 vs 6 says:

“But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.”

Maybe a life event threw you into spiritual doldrums, where you lost your faith and hope in God. It’s easy in the busyness of life to drift away from God. The old saying goes, ‘if you are not as close to God as you used to be, guess who moved?’

Whatever your situation today, it’s time to return. Return, maintain love and justice and wait. The Word of God has a way of making it simple. Knowing God is not complicated. He knows you better than you know yourself. Acknowledge Him today and watch His peace return to your life.

God bless you loads!

In His Grip,

Helga xx :-)

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Post Holiday ‘Blues’

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Helga

7-08am

It had to happen. I thought it may, but when it struck, it was unexpected and unappreciated! On Thursday evening/Friday, I was struck with a case of  post holiday blues. I found myself down in the dumps, melancholy & becalmed by a sense of misery. After jumping in and cleaning & clearing the house like a crazy person all week, Friday, I did nothing, but mope around and have a bit of a mental pity party.  I was betwixt and between. I am not a person given to ‘the morbs’  and fortunately Julian, who didn’t even know about it, was coming, and he would cheer me up. Mike, of course, was constantly trying to ‘cheer me up’. By yesterday, I was feeling a bit better but what really helped to knock me out of it, actually, was yesterday’s ‘fire emergency!’ It was just such a comical thing to have happened, that it changed my frame of thinking. It made me laugh! Laughter changes things. Just smiling lifts your spirits and it was the one thing I had forgotten to do all day Friday…I wasn’t smiling enough! So I have thought up a few suggestions for overcoming a case of ‘the blues.’

1.SMILE! I’m serious about smiling. You may remember my ‘smiling 3km run’ when I left home mad as a bear stung by a bee, forced myself to smile for 3km while running and came home a changed person! Someone else tried it and told me how it had worked. They too learnt that simply by lifting the corners of your mouth upwards, you feel better. There must be a positive chemical reaction. When you are feeling miserable, the idea of smiling goes against the grain & is the hardest thing to do, but, it is free and instant, so it’s worth a try!

Psalm 121

2. Get up, dress nice! If you feel you are looking good, you will feel a bit better. You will think more positively, like ‘at least I’m looking good today.’

I will not leave you as orphans

3. Try and get something achieved. Try and do one thing that is beneficial to someone else. It will make you feel better.

Find rest

4. Find a distraction. Visit a friend, have a friend over. Find people, even if it means going to a coffee shop and watching them go about their lives.

Our soul waiteth for the Lord

5. Refocus. It was only really when I reminded myself that God doesn’t want me feeling this way. He wants me to live an abundant life, with daily joy. God is made up of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When you know the Lord, you have the blessing of the Holy Spirit in your life. He brings comfort and peace in times of trauma and difficulty. Seek Him out and rest in His cushion of love. You are not alone. He’s got you!

Jeremiah 29 11

Don’t forget the Word of God!

For some great post travel tips, visit this site: Margi’s got some great advice:

Margi’s Post-Travel Tips

God bless you with a cheerful Sunday!

In His Grip,

Helga xx :-)

Greater

 

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Fire!

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Helga

9-45am

Suddenly, there was an ambulance and police car outside our house. Emergency personnel, at least 8 of them banged on my garage door and hastily rang the doorbell. I rushed to answer, keen to tell them they were at the wrong house. I threw open the door and said, ‘you are at the wrong house!’ ‘No!’ they replied, ‘there’s a fire here!’ I asked them if someone had called. “No, we saw the smoke from the road!” I quickly took them to the back of the house to see if I had missed something and the house was about to burn down! I had smelt smoke, but knew Mike was working out back with the gardener, clearing overgrown grass. With my emergency men in hot pursuit, this is the sight that we met…

Mikes controlled burn

Mike burning the grass in a ‘controlled burn.’ Amid much laughter, they all climbed back into their vehicles, telling me to check out the False Bay Emergency Services  Facebook page, which I did… you can too…

False Bay EMS

They climbed back in the ambulance and headed off…

Friendly fish hoek volunteers

Along with the police who had accompanied them…

THe policeSo glad it wasn’t an emergency…there was lots of laughter!  Good to know they are on the lookout for anything unusual!

South Africa is now gearing up for the world’s biggest funeral, probably ever in recent history. JFK’s funeral would have been big, but this one will be bigger. The funeral of Nelson Mandela will even eclipse that of Princess Diana. I am told ALL hotel accommodation in Johannesburg has already been reserved. Barack Obama is coming. Prince Charles is coming. If those two are coming, every major nation in the world will feel obligated to have their head of state attend. It’s going to be interesting times in our country.

“When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily; but with honest, sensible leaders there is stability.”

Proverbs 28:2 (The Living Bible)

God Bless you!

In His Grip,

Helga xx :-)

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Nelson Mandela – Agent of Peaceful Change…

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Helga

7-36am

We wake up to the news that Nelson Mandela has died. It is not unexpected. He has been frail & on life support for many months. News is that he passed away peacefully at his home in Johannesburg around 9pm last night surrounded by some of his closest family members.

With his life now over, flags are at half mast across the country and millions of people worldwide are talking about him and his legacy. From Prince William to Barack Obama, from shack dwellers to the many occupants of Nkandla, his name is on our minds and in our Nelson Mandelaconversations. We, all of us, have an opinion about him. Some are not interested and may say, ‘so what?’ But most recognise the enormous contribution Madiba has made to peace and reconciliation in this country. At a time of tension, uncertainty and intercultural conflict, Nelson Mandela stepped forward as a promoter of love & peace between all. If South Africa ever needed a hero to sort out political turmoil & trauma, they certainly found it in this great statesman. Almost certain bloodshed and anarchy was averted by his reconciliatory nature and actions. God used him to make a difference. From a Biblical perspective, apartheid was wrong. From a Biblical perspective, I believe what is happening in South Africa today is wrong. I believe that most of the values and principles by which Nelson Mandela governed were as close to Biblically based as we are  going to find. The abortion bill he signed into being is one of the few areas he got horribly wrong. But he had to live with the consequences of his actions in life and he will be judged for them in death – just as each of us will be. South Africa would be far worse off today had it not been for the life of Madiba. He was a remarkable man, a great stabilising factor and agent of peaceful change. I appreciate that and will always be grateful for the presidency & peace of Nelson Mandela.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” — Nelson Mandela (Long Walk to Freedom)

“I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.” — Nelson Mandela

“One of the most difficult things is not to change society – but to change yourself.” -Nelson Mandela

1 John 4:7 says,

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God & knows God.”

Nelson MandelaGod bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx

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On Another More Serious Note…

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Helga

7-25am

SUSHI! Today’s main event is to gather with about a dozen other wonderful women for an end of year sushi lunch! We go to a specialist sushi restaurant that has a value menu at half price after 12 noon. I have already gone onto their website and decided what I’m going to have. When it comes to sushi, my eyes are always bigger than my stomach. I over-order and eat WAY too much. By pre-deciding, I prevent that because I have had more time to think about it. Talking of thinking about it, I am already salivating!

salushi-special-1I will wash it all down with a nice cappuccino, but I don’t think it will be as good as the one Joshua made for me at Riana’s house yesterday. It was mega and delicious and one of the best cappuccino’s I’ve had in my life!

Josh cappuccinoWhen Josh goes off to varsity, these are going to be missed, neh?

As far as my ‘house sorting’ project is going,  I am psychologically preparing myself to attack the kitchen! That’s the plan for part of tomorrow.  We have jars, which need to find a new home. They are in a cupboard that probably has not been cleaned for 5 years! (Gruesome hey!?).  Tomorrow I have in my sights, two cupboards. The one under the sink (that has the jars) and another which has a conglomeration of stuff, including light bulbs and pain pills! There you go, something wrong with that combination right there… light bulbs and pain pills! Hold me to it. This time tomorrow, it will be sorted! Another side project for the next 24 hours is to prepare the guest room.  Julian is coming for the weekend! Yay!

On another, more serious note, Mike & I sat on the couch yesterday evening and with tears in our eyes, we prayed….  pleaded is a better word… we pleaded with God….we called on Him “O Lord, do not be silent… O Lord please hear our prayer… O Lord, you are our only hope” we prayed for friends and families who are going through difficulties. Our hearts are with them. We cry with them and try and hold up their arms, so they can press on. It is not easy. But we know that when God appears silent, He is doing His greatest work. We do not give up. 2 Corinthians 4: vss 8-9

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

We believe this to be true. God is at work. Don’t give up. Help is on the way.

God bless you!

In His Grip,

Helga xx :-)

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Birthday and Funeral

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Helga

7-42am

Today is a busy day. The blessing of it all is that it is Stacey’s 26th birthday! What a gift she has been to Mike & I. Born at 5-30pm at Paarl Hospital, she arrived on the day she was due, weighing in at 3.9kg. She was big and healthy and got on with the job of growing up immediately! Stacey is a deep thinker…like her Dad. She has a quiet nature… like her Dad. It’s just so easy to make Stacey laugh… like her Dad. She is sensitive and loving and kind…like her Dad. She is technical…like her Dad! She is her Daddy’s little girl and they have a unique and special relationship. Is there anything Stacey gets from me? Absolutely! She has wonderful people skills and she looks like me as well!  God has gifted Stacey with a servant heart & we her closest family members are the blessed recipients. She’s clever and quirky and practical and altogether lovely. She does amazing things like make android apps, design computer programmes for cross-stitch patterns, changes knitting patterns, writes firmware and she has long technical creative discussions with Mike.  She gets on well with David and does stuff for him that he knows are not my strength… like fixing pants! She and her husband Adrian are best friends and we are continually blessed by having them here in Cape Town for this season!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACEY!

20131204_062749

That’s the happy part of the day.

In a short while, I leave with my dear friend Riana and her best friend Karin and Riana’s mom in law to have a farewell ‘funeral’ tea for R’s father who passed away last week. Oom Daan took a turn for the worst  and after a number of difficult days, he slipped away into the presence of the Lord. Riana was wonderful with Granny and I will always appreciate her support. We both had a lot in common with frail, elderly parents. No more suffering for them.

The last verse of Romans 12. Verse 21:

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Keep at it!

God bless you!

In His Grip,

Helga xx :-)

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I Stumbled At The First Hurdle…

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Helga

6-57am

Yes! Yesterday, I had great plans of amazing de-cluttering exploits, all perfectly arranged. And! I have to admit that by the time I turned off the light last night, great things had been achieved, but not exactly as I had planned. There was really only ONE important thing I had to do yesterday and that was change the winter duvet for a summer one. So after I got up and got dressed, I pulled the winter duvet out of the duvet cover and then started to look for the summer duvet. Well! That took THE ENTIRE DAY! In the end, I searched through every cupboard in our house that has linen to try and find it. I got thoroughly bogged down with endless stuff…

Linen cupboard contentsI found duvet covers & curtains and continental cushions from the 90s! In the end I was drowning in linen. There was no where to sit in the lounge. It was all taken up with piles of single bed linen, double bed linen, queen bed linen, table cloths, curtains, stuff to stay and stuff to give away…. bags and bags of it. By the time 11-45 came and I had to go to gym, I’d pretty much sorted it, but still hadn’t found the summer queen size duvet for our bed! I went to gym and who should come in as I’m about to go out? Valerie Gail from Beautiful Gate. On her way home from gym, she stopped by my house and we loaded her car with 4 bagfuls…4 bags full… 4 full bags! Today I drop off another load at Living Hope.  It was so cathartic! The linen cupboard is so sorted and there are lots of empty shelves in other cupboards as well. But despite all this, my bedroom looked like a bomb had hit it – the bed wasn’t made and I still hadn’t achieved objective number 1. All Mike wanted was the winter duvet out and the summer one in. I got in my car and drove to the mall…

New duvet innerHalf an hour before he got home…

Bed finally made… the bed was finally made! Yay!

Today, I need to go back to step one and try and sort out winter clothes from summer… not a complete revamp of my wardrobe… just a little sort out/throw out job.

Tonight we go to the Carol Concert at Fish Hoek High school. This is one of the my favourite nights of the year. Each year the school choirs put on a most amazing Christmas Carol concert. It’s always well organised, traditional and is a sparkling start to this special season. 7-30pm – free entrance!

Tomorrow is Stacey’s 26th birthday, so today, I have to finalise her birthday present!

I’d better get to it!

The penultimate verse of Romans 12: verse 20.

“On the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’”

God bless you!

In His Grip,

Helga xx :-)

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