3-39pm
With Colour Conference 2013 over, it has been a day of reflection and recovery. I made notes on 5 messages over the course of the conference, enjoyed hours of worship and met more than a hundred women of all ages who came to the CCFm stand to say hello. One of the visitors was Dominique who sings the song “Happy, happy, happy”….
At the CCFm booth, I had the wonderful help of Patricia….
We made a great team.
During the Sisterhood session, we were asked to put coins in our neighbour’s tins and then we all shook our tins….what a racket.. 5000 shaking tins…
The deal with the tins is to raise R500 for a good cause related to human trafficking or poverty or orphans and vulnerable children, 
maternal health, education or the message of value. I have decided to raise R500 for my friend, Valerie Gail who is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in September. Her goal is to raise bursary money for the Beautiful Gate children to get a better education.
At the end of the Sisterhood session, I zipped across to say hello to Priscilla Shirer and Helen Burns. Our Bible study group has enjoyed much of Priscilla’s Bible teaching and the ‘Who God is’ piece that I have on You Tube I got to learn off by heart after I heard her proclaim it. I made a few changes to mine. The link for that You Tube piece is on the right side of this blogsite…
That’s Priscilla Shirer, a very vivacious, energetic, Spirit-filled, courageous, talented lady!
There was one other major illustration that came for me out of the Colour Conference. My friend Jacqui had offered for me to stay Friday night at her house because she doesn’t live far from Grandwest & it meant I wouldn’t have to drive home after a long day. I was seriously tempted but then Valerie Gail offered to drive Friday and I would drive Saturday. So that’s what happened. As it turned out, Friday night’s trip home became a longer than expected. To start with the Friday night session ended later than anticipated, so we only got to the car after 10pm. By the time we had negotiated through the 1000s of other cars also trying to leave Grandwest, it was after 10-30pm. By 11pm, we were on Boyes Drive going towards Kalk Bay. We got to just above Kalk Bay only to see a huge pall of smoke rising up from a massive fire at the Kalk Bay beach. At that moment a bunch of fire engines arrived and the one way traffic lane was completely blocked. Turned out to be a burning boat. We got in the queue and wondered if we were going to be able to get through any time soon. Eventually, I got out the car and went and had a little chat with the firemen. I asked one of them if we should be waiting or if we should turn back. He didn’t even hesitate…”Go Ou Kaapse Weg,’ he said. “This is going to take some time.” So we turned around and trundled all the way back. Finally, we drove up my street at 23-42. Mike was waiting on the street. He opened my door and helped me out the car. Then he led me inside and said, “Come with me.” Leading me into the bathroom, there was a candle-lit bath filled with hot water. Into the bath I got. Oh my, that was good. Then he arrived with a tray with a snack and a red cappuccino. It was bliss. Apart from a short catnap in the afternoon, I had been awake for more than 20 hours! I was exhausted! I was hungry! Mike knew it. At that moment, I knew, despite the gruelling trip home, I did the right thing not staying at Jacqui’s. With very few words, Mike revealed a number of things to me – he showed me his love, by thinking about how I would be feeling – he anticipated my needs. I felt pampered. I felt respected. I felt treasured. I felt cherished. I felt loved.
All I could think of was this is what Paul meant when he wrote:
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…
Sacrificial, thoughtful, compassionate love. My husband has done the job of showing me Christ. He really doesn’t like me writing about him like this, but he stands as an example to any other husbands who may be reading this – this is how it’s done! It makes me want to serve him in return and certainly I respect him.
Erin posted this pic on FB….
Treasure your families!
As much as yesterday was a day of sensory overload, today has been a day of peace and quiet. I have caught up on lost sleep. I am ready for the new week.
God bless you loads!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂