....Genoeg is Genoeg..... !

Wanneer is 'Genoeg .....-Genoeg'!

Wanneer & /of op watter stadium van jou Lewensloop word die besluit geneem / word 'dit' toegelaat dat jy maar kan 'aanbeweeg'...?
-dat jy hierdie na afloop van hierdie 'stadia' van jou lewensloop & metamorfose tot 'n beter 'gees' suksesvol bevorder word, tot die volgende intramediêre stadium van die Ewige Lewe ?
Is daar 'n patroon/suksesresep van Lewensverloop wat afdoende bepalend is van 'wanneer' die tyd reg is ......?

Ja, ....ek weet die Bybel is vol Voorskrifte & Paradoksale uitsprake wat fokus op integrasie van die 'praktiese Lewenslesse' van Jesus Christus & die onderskraging van jou pogings (as faalbare mensekind) deur die Heilige Gees, -te midde van 'n Spirituele moderne 'wêreldoorlog' op 'n Geestelike vlak........tussen besete demone....?

Die Lig vs die Duisternis....
'n Eeue-oue stryd wat binne afsienbare tyd 'n einde gaan kry.....
Dit verseker die Bybel ons !

Dog, as ons ophou met die toutrek tussen "Jammerte" "Perfeksionisme" & ander "Materiële &/of Humanitêre" opsies................

..... kom staan in 'basiese eenvoud' die antwoord, klinkklaar daar:

...& ek begin die beginsels van Daaglikse Dankbaarheid.... te verstaan !

Shalom ....... & Maranatha

Circumstances........ Does it REALLY matter... when everything is Said & done ?

Circumstances are .......... subliminal Relative...

George Bernard Shaw said, 

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. 

I don't believe in circumstances. 

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them."

Well, it's pretty apparent, isn't it? 

And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. 

We become what we think about.

Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn't know where he's going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety and worry - his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. 

And if he thinks about nothing... he becomes nothing.

How does it work? 

Why do we become what we think about? 

Well, I'll tell you how it works, as far as we know. 

To do this, I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.

Suppose a farmer has some land, and it's good, fertile land. 

The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. 

The land doesn't care. 

It's up to the farmer to make the decision.

We're comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn't care what you plant in it........

 It will return what you plant, but it doesn't care what you plant.

Now, let's say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand- one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison........

 He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds-one corn, the other nightshade.  

 He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land...and what will happen? 

Invariably, the land will return what was planted.

As it's written in the Bible, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."

Remember the land doesn't care. 

It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn.. So up come the two plants - one corn, one poison.

The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. 

It doesn't care what we plant...success...or failure. 

A concrete, worthwhile goal...or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on. 

But what we plant must return to us.

You see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. 

It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. 

It will return anything we want to plant.

Shalom 

A God of....... Surprises !

Please read the following 'case history' & then contemplate on my remarks at the end....   


A United States Marine was taking some college courses between assignments. 
He had completed 20 missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. 


One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist, and a member of the ACLU. 

One day the professor shocked the class when he came in.   
He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, 
"GOD, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform... I'll give you exactly 15 min."   
The lecture room fell silent.
You could hear a pin drop. 
Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed,
 "Here I am GOD, I'm still waiting." 

It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him; knocking him off the platform. 


The professor was out cold. 

The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently. 
The other students were shocked and stunned, and sat there looking on in silence. 
The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked,   
"What in the world is the matter with you...? !!! 
Why did you do that?"  

The Marine calmly replied,   
"GOD was too busy today protecting America's soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid stuff and act like an idiot. 
So He sent me." 

The classroom erupted in cheers! 


Conclusion.....


"If you don't know GOD, don't make stupid remarks ( or mock him) !" 


Consideration .....

After I've come across this Inspiring 'story'.....

I knew I would have done the same........

If we felt passionate about .......... 'whatever' 

Let my / your deeds, reflect the same !

To many a time we are more concerned about .. "What would 'They say.... ? ', instead of standing up & defend what we truly believe in....

Like the 99.9 % remainder of the students in this story.....  

Can we categorically say: "Because the didn't TRULY Belief & have  The FAITH & Compassion, -they didn't care enough to ACT like the 1 -person...?

If not,........What then is the differentiating factor...? 

What would be.......1-day the differentiating factor, dividing the sheep & the goats....

That 1-day just might be ......any day, tomorrow for all that we know ?

Shalom

"Dance"...... when in "danger".........like a squirrel !

A single slip would be certain death or at the very least a severe injury.

I watched it run carelessly amidst what most would consider extreme danger. 

It was a squirrel.

It ran across power lines located over 10 meters /30 feet above the ground.

It seemed to dance, dart and dash above me as I stood transfixed, -watching it...

Here was a creature in what I thought was great danger. 

Such a situation would have me nearly paralyzed with fright.

The squirrel danced.

I thought of the many people whom I knew.  

I thought how some lived like the squirrel, looking in front of them but never dwelling on what’s behind or below.... 

They had tough situations in life. 

Frankly, some of the situations could make you shudder; yet, they were happier than many with far smoother conditions.

That simple squirrel on the electric wire taught me something.

 I took my cell phone and snapped a picture of it. It’s not a high quality picture; it was a cell phone and the sun was setting but it.......

....... captured the spirit of the squirrel:

- Even when you face tough situations.

- Even when things are down to a thin line for support...

- Even when unpleasant things could happen if you fail or fall...

- Even when the wind starts blowing.

 ................Dance !

Shalom

Purpose....of Life =A MUST READ !

People ask....... What is the purpose of life?  


In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. 
We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.   
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.   
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. 
This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. 
God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
  
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.   
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.   
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.  
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. 
The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.  


I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth.
 I don't believe that anymore.  
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.  
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.


You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:  
1. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' 
2. But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.   We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.  


You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.   
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. 
If you would become instantly very wealthy, it might also brought a lot of notoriety that you had never had to deal with before ......
I don't believe God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.


So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. 
He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, 
II Corinthians 9 and 
Psalm 72.  
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. 
We made no major purchases.  
Second,  stopped taking a salary .   
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.   
Fourth, I added up all that the I had been paid and I gave it all back to God's work 
It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.  


We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?  
Am I going to be driven by
 pressures?
 Guilt? 
Bitterness? 
Materialism? 
Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?  


When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. 


God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. 
He's more interested in what I am than what I do.  
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.  


Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.  
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.  
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.  
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.  
Every moment, THANK GOD..  


God's Blessings 


AMEN & SHALOM !

Aging...... Is there a trade-off..Or Regrets ?

I  would never trade my life, my 'historic' family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.  


As I've middle-aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. 
I've become my best own friend. 
I don't 'argue with myself' for eating that extra cookie. 
I am entitled to a treat, to be myself......, to be uniquely me.
I  have seen too many people leave this world too soon;  before they  understood the great freedom that comes with aging.  
Whose  business is it if I choose to read on the computer until 4 AM and  sleep until noon during weekends? 
I will dance with myself to  those wonderful tunes of the 60  &70's, and if I, at the same time,  wish  to weep over a lost love  ..... I will.
  I  will walk the beach in a swim suit that  is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves  with  abandon if I choose to, despite the  pitying glances from the  'jet set'.  
They, too, will get one day old....
  I  know I am sometimes  eccentric-forgetful.   
But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. 
And I eventually remember the important  things.
 Sure,  over the years my heart has been broken.  
How can  your heart not break when you lose all loved ones, or when somebody's child  suffers, or even when  somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car?   
But broken  hearts are  what give us strength and understanding and compassion.   
A heart  never broken is pristine and sterile and  will  never know the joy of  being imperfect.   I  am so blessed to have lived long enough  to have my hair turning gray, and to have my occasional laughs be forever  etched into deep grooves on my  face.
 So  many  have never laughed, and so many have died before they get to 'Know the Lord' or their hair could turn silver.
   As  you get older, it is easier to be positive.  
You care  less about what other people think..  
I don't question myself  anymore, continuously.    
I've even earned the right to be wrong.
 I like being older.  
It has set me free.   
I  like the person I have become.  
I am not going to live forever,  but while  I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what  could  have been,  or worrying about what will be.  
And I shall  eat dessert once in a while (if I feel like it).


Consideration....
May your friendship with (especially yourself), never come apart, and those relationships with others, -never come apart,especially when it is straight from the Heart !
   
Shalom

PRAYER is ...Meditation.........What an Adventure!

Meditation....the act of Dwelling on God's Word....   My Definition.

An activity of...
- calling to mind, 
- thinking over, 
- dwelling on, 
- applying to oneself, 
.....the various things that one knows about the 
works & ways 
purposes & promises 
....of God


One of the benefits of God's Word is a cleansing and renewing of our minds.
How does that happen...? 
Our minds and hearts are pulled away from problems, disappointments, challenges, temptations, failures, resentments, and other negative thoughts and emotions and are redirected to God's thoughts, God's feelings, God's promises, God's principles. 


But this isn't just an exercise in 'self-help' and 'guided' thoughts. 
We are told in Hebrews that the Word of God is "living and active" (4:12). 
God's words aren't just ink on a page or bytes on an electronic device. 


Because they have been spoken by God Himself, they have a special way of touching us and renewing us in our inner core.


Considerations...
Worried, angry, tempted, distracted, resentful? 
* Why not bathe in God's Word ........right now? 
* It’s good to read through a 'short passage' from the Psalms or New Testament. 
* Read it slowly... & re-read it a couple of times. 
* Ask God to speak to you while you read each time. 
* Memorize a key phrase or two. 
* Repeat those phrases throughout your day. 
* Truly bask and soak in the heart of God as you 'savor His Words' to you.


Whilst, engaging in this 'semi-continuous Activity' ...
* Choose to ignore all distractions and focus your mind on truths from HIS Word.
* Allow HIM [Holy Spirit] (attitudinal / consciously) to let His' Words have an affect / penetrate / sink deep into your spirit. 


Shalom....

Places I still want to travel to & Visit.....

I have always said, you should learn something new EVERY day... !

Unfortunately, many of us might what we learn today, forget tomorrow...
It IS OK !
Give it a shot anyway.........

Alaska
More than half of the coastline of the entire ....United States is in ........Alaska.

Amazon
The Amazon rain-forest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply.
The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of the ocean.
 The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the ........United States .

Antarctica
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country.
90% of the world's ice covers Antarctica .
This ice also represents 70% of all the fresh water in the world.
As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert.
The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, ice.), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert....!

Brazil
Brazil.... got its name from the nut, not the other way around.

Canada
Canada.... has more lakes than the rest of the world combined.
Canada is an Indian word meaning ' Big Village .'
I want to fish in a different lake every day of the year, -for a year !

Chicago
Next to ....Warsaw , Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.

Detroit
Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first 'paved road' anywhere.

Damascus, in Syria
Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.

Istanbul, in Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.

Los Angeles
Los Angele's full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula -- and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.

New York City
The term 'The Big Apple' was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930's who used the slang expression 'apple' for any town or city. Therefore, to play ........New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.
There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin , Ireland ; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy ; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel .

Ohio
There are no natural lakes in the state of ........Ohio , everyone is manmade.

Pitcairn Island
The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in ....Polynesia , at just 1.75 sq. miles/4,53 sq. km.

Rome
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was ........Rome , ....Italy in 133 B.C.
 There is a city called ........Rome on every continent.

Siberia
Siberia.. contains more than 25% of the world's forests.

S.M.O.M
The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M).
It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican.
It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the ........Vatican is.

Sahara ....Desert
In the ....Sahara ....Desert , there is a town named ........Tidikelt , ....Algeria , which did not receive a drop of rain for ten years.........
Technically though, the driest place on Earth is in the valleys of the Antarctic near ........Ross ....Island .
There has been no rainfall there for two million years.........

Spain
Spain.... literally means 'the land of rabbits.'

St. Paul , ....Minnesota
St. Paul.., ....Minnesota , was originally called Pig's Eye after a man named Pierre 'Pig's Eye' Parrant who set up the first business there.

Roads
Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A : 1%;
.....in Canada : 75%

Russia
The deepest hole ever drilled by man is the Kola Super deep Borehole, in Russia.
It reached a depth of 12,261 meters (about 40,226 feet or 7.62 miles).
It was drilled for scientific research and gave up some unexpected discoveries, one of which was a huge deposit of hydrogen - so massive that the mud coming from the hole was “boiling” with it.

United States
The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one-mile in every five must be straight.
These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

Waterfalls
The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters).
They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls

...you want to accompany me in my 'troebadoer' / (gypsy-like) endeavors... ?
Then contact me.......ASAHP

Shalom