By Gracious Powers

 "By Gracious Powers" 

A beautiful song written in prison

A new radio episode about Joseph coming out of the prison and the wonder of the seasons.

A little snippet from the radio episode about the wonder of snow.

Psalm 67 in Song

And here is a link to Psalm 67 put to music. The easiest way to memorize Scripture!

Small Regular Deposits

On January 15th, 2009, an airplane made an emergency crash landing on the Hudson River after hitting a flock of Canadian geese during takeoff. It is called The Miracle on the Hudson as all 150 passengers and 5 crew members survived.

The pilot, Captain Sullenberger, was later asked how he managed such a perfect water landing. I find his answer interesting.

 "One way of looking at this might be that for 42 years, I've been making small, regular deposits in this bank of experience, education and training. And on January 15, the balance was sufficient so that I could make a very large withdrawal."

Although it was a miracle that all lives were saved, God used the pilot's experience. He still did his best to land safely. Like he said, all his previous experiences had prepared him for this moment.

I like the idea of small regular deposits in the bank of experience, education and training. We can apply it spiritually. Think of Joseph. When he became the prime minister of Egypt, he was ready. He had made regular deposits of trust in God, integrity and faithfulness in his work. Then when his big opportunity came, he was prepared.

And there's David. He learned to trust God as a shepherd boy and fight wild animals. When he faced a giant enemy of Israel, he made a withdrawal from his "bank", and it was sufficient.

I like this verse from Ezra 7:10.

“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.”

When we learn and hide God's Word in our hearts and put it into practice in our lives, we'll be ready to teach and share it with others. We'll be able to withdraw from our bank of knowledge and memory. If we don't deposit it, it won't be there to withdraw from.

When we memorize, study and meditate on God's Word, we are making deposits. Then when challenges and trials come, we'll be able to make large withdrawals.

God is not limited, and He can do miracles regardless of us, but He does promise that when we hear God's Word and do it, we are preparing for the future storms (Wise and Foolish man). We are making deposits that we will be able to withdraw from.

So, fill your "bank" with regular deposits. You never know when you'll need to make a big withdrawal! And if you have children, make small regular deposits in their bank. It's the best investment you can make.

The Thirstiest Animal

Do you know which animal is the thirstiest? I was surprised to discover that it is .... the dairy cow! But it makes perfect sense. A cow gives out a large amount of milk each day. Unless it takes in a lot of water, it won't have much liquid to give out.

If we want to be like the cow, having something to give that benefits others, we must first fill ourselves. The water is God's Word. To have something valuable to share with others, we must be in God's Word a lot. Not just reading but meditating, praying and applying. 

When knowing God is our first priority, it is only natural that it will overflow to others. To take in and not give out, is being like the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea has no outlet. We need to be like the cow in that we both take in and give out to feed and bless others. 

What makes the Dead Sea dead? Because it is all the time receiving, never giving out anything. Why is it that many Christians are cold? Because they are all the time receiving, never giving out anything.--Dwight L. Moody

Growing up on a farm, the cows drank from water troughs that were always full. They were made to refill automatically when the cows drank. God's Word is like that. It never runs out of encouragement, refreshment, insight, wisdom, etc. It never gets old or empty. It is living. We just need God to continually open our eyes and enlighten us.

...The God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

 

Keep Moving Forward

 To keep your balance on a bike, you need to keep pedaling. You need to move forwards. Unless you put your feet on the ground, you will wobble and crash to the ground if you stop pedaling.

And it's the same with the Christian life. We need to be always moving forward. Not necessarily always busy. Rest times are important. But always moving forward in our relationship with God. We need to keep praying, reading our Bibles, learning, obeying, trusting, applying, and so on.

That's how you keep your balance as a Christian!

In the Bible the Christian life is compared to a walk. Enoch walked with God. When you walk, you keep moving forward one step at a time. 

Just keep plodding along!

Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:17-18

When We Don't Stay Closely Connected....

 Last Friday a man gave us some beautiful flowers from his garden. But a week later, they’re all dried up and rather ugly. That’s what happens when they’re disconnected from their roots.

The same goes for us. When don’t constantly stay closely connected to God through prayer and His Word, we’ll start to wither and lose the beauty of Christ.

Stay close to God and God’s glory and beauty will shine through you. 

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:4-5

What Did Mummy Say?

 One thing I find difficult with Lydia sometimes is her questions. I’m not sure if she actually forgets that she has already asked the question five times in the last five minutes, or if it’s more of a habit. 

I get tired of the same question over and over again. So when I have already answered, I say, “What did Mummy say?” She usually knows the answer. If I ignore her, she will sometimes answer herself. She needs to remind herself of what I have said.

While I am writing this, Lydia has just asked me for the fourth time about swimming. I said, “What did Mummy say?” “Tomorrow!” she answered.

Thankfully God has far more patience than I have, and He doesn’t tire of sincere prayers. But like Lydia, we need to remind ourselves, “What has God said?”

When Jesus was tempted in the desert, He answered Satan 3 times by saying, “It is written…” He is our example. He remembered what God has said.

When we are tempted to worry, doubt, be discontent, afraid, and so on, we need to remind ourselves, “What has God said?” We need to remind ourselves constantly of the promises and commands of God. Because like Lydia, we need them over and over again!

Be a Speedy Prayer

 If you could get tickets for being a speedy prayer, how many times would you have been pulled over? How quick are you to pray? Do you pray about everything?

Or would you more be someone with a long line of cars behind you because you are so slow? Is prayer your last resort? Your steering wheel or your spare tire?

We save ourselves so much worry, trouble and grief when we are speedy prayers and speedy seekers!

Hidden Treasures

 God has treasures in store for His children. Not earthly treasures that don't last, but the real treasure that comes from knowing God. The treasures of peace, joy and nearness to Him. The treasure of being satisfied and content. The treasure of God revealing truths from His Word. The treasure of growing in a personal relationship with the Creator and feeling His love.

But those treasures are often found in the hard times and in the secret place of our quiet time alone with God.

How to Survive

 How do we survive hard times? How do we not get depressed when the world around us is so depressing? How do we not get discouraged, when there is little to encourage us?

God's Word is the answer. God is the Source of all comfort, joy, peace and hope. And we have His own Words to read which give us hope and encouragement. Is it your delight? Your go-to? Is it what you meditate on?

"O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day." Psalm 119:97

The Sweetness of Finding Wisdom

 Solomon compared finding wisdom to the sweetness of honey. It is so true! There is a sweetness, a delight, a joy, and a reward in knowing God and all that He has to personally teach us. Nothing else satisfies us like that. And yet it takes effort, time and prayer to dig in God's Word and meditate on it. But the sweetness and satisfaction are worth it!

My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.--Proverbs 24:13-14

Loving God's Word and the Story of Mary Jones

Today we acted out the story of Mary Jones and her Bible. It was Hannah's idea and she planned it all out. I added in an application at the end and used the verse "Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold." Psalm 119:127. Mary loved God's word far more than money.

A few hours later this verse came to my mind when I was praying about something. And I was challenged. Mary had to sacrifice a lot because of her love for God's Word. I already have my own Bible, but there is a sacrifice that comes when you love it. And that sacrifice can be hard. The sacrifice of taking time to read and study it. The sacrifice of obeying it. The sacrifice of giving our time, money, effort and energy to teach it, share it, and make it possible for others to hear about it.

Are we willing to make sacrifices because of our love for God's Word? Do we love God's Word more than everything we have? 

True or False?

 I have just finished making a true and false quiz for my Bible class at school tomorrow. I will say the sentence and the children will have to figure out which ones are true and which ones are false. Sometimes true and false quizzes are easy. Other times they can be quite tricky.

Jesus said that He is the truth. He also said that Satan is the Father of lies. So everything Jesus says is true. And everything that Satan says is false or twisted.

In my Bible story at school thismorning, I told the story of Zachariah and Elisabeth. The angel said, "You will have a son." Zachariah said, "How do I know what you say is true? It's impossible--we're too old." But if God says it, it's the truth. And it was the truth. He did have a son.

It would do us good to remember that sometimes life is like a true and false test. We need to figure out whether our thoughts are true or false! I often find myself thinking, "But I feel..." or "It seems..." Feelings are often different than the truth. What seems is not always what is.

God's Word is always true. It's so easy to doubt it, like Zachariah did, as it can seem impossible. But he found out, that with God nothing is impossible!

Come to Me

What a difference it makes when we bring every care, question, worry, burden etc. to the Lord! This song was written to remind us of that. 

Come to me when you are weary Come to me when you are tired Come to me when you are dreary When you’re sad and want to cry Come to me when you are burdened Come to me when you are stressed Come to me when you are anxious And I will give you rest.

chorus I have the answer to every question The solution to every problem New grace for every trial And strength for every mile I have hope for your despair And joy to bring you cheer I have peace for every stress And help in every test.

I’m your hope, I am your counsellor I’m your Saviour and Friend I’m your strength and your provider You’re broken heart I’ll mend. I’m your father and your mother I’m your joy and your song I’m your guide and your protector Come to me where you belong. ~Emily van Rijn

Walking with God

 This week I taught a Bible lesson at our school on Enoch and what it means to walk with God. I found it really thought-provoking, so I thought I would share the thoughts in devotional style.

Walking With God

If your life was summed up in one sentence, what would it be?

There is a man in the Bible whose life is summed up with the words "Enoch walked with God."

If you put your name in Enoch's place, would it be true? Do you walk with God? What does it even mean to walk with God?

Here are some thoughts to think about. Let's compare walking with God to going for a walk with a person.

Who do you go for walks with? A friend or a stranger? Usually we only go for walks with someone we love and know--a friend or family member. If you walked up to a random person on the street and asked them to go for a walk with you, they would think you were strange! Walking with God means you know and love Him.

Since God is light, then walking with God means walking in the light. Confessing and forsaking sin, not hiding your sin or putting the blame on others.

Imagine walking with a friend in complete silence! When you go for a walk, you also talk. But you don't chatter none stop and give your friend no chance to talk. Walking with a friend requires both talking and listening. Walking with God involves both talking to God (prayer) and listening to Him (reading the Bible).

Imagine asking a friend to go for a walk with you, but you are in one town and they are in another town. Would that work? No, you have to be in the same place to walk together. You have to be close! Walking with God means being close to God.

Walking with a friend means that you are not walking with others. So that might mean being different. People may laugh or mock you. But it's better to walk with God and be laughed at than be the ones who are not walking with God.

If your friend invites you to go for a walk with them, you need to go where they are going. And so walking with God means that we must obey Him and go where He leads.

Would you go for a walk with someone you don't trust? I sure wouldn't! And walking with God requires trust and faith in Him.

Would you walk with a friend while worrying how to please someone that you are not with? Walking with God means living to please God, not other people.

Walking with a friend also involves keeping in step with, not lagging behind or running ahead.

Enoch never died, God just took him to heaven (Heb 11:5) While those who walk with God will still have to die, they have no need to fear death. They will finally see in person the one they have been walking with on earth!

Our Go-To

 A go-to is defined as someone or something that is regularly or repeatedly chosen or employed for reliably good results or the best person, thing, or place for a particular purpose or need.

When I think of Psalm 71:3, I think of a go-to!

Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort:

"Habitation" means dwelling place.

"Resort" means to go especially frequently or habitually. (Although whenever I hear the word I think of a holiday resort on a tropical island where you go to get away from everything. God is also a resort that we can run to for rest!)

In this world, it is so easy to get discouraged and depressed. Especially if we keep up with what's happening. Or it can be our own life stresses and challenges that get us down. 

I am learning to remember this verse and go to God in those moments. If possible, I stop for a few minutes, open my Bible or Daily Light, pray, pick up a devotional or anything spiritually uplifting. If I can't take the time out to do that, I can always silently pray and think about a Bible verse. God is waiting there for me and He'll give me some encouragement. 

But it comes more natural to pick up my phone again and scroll. Or I endlessly worry and stress in my mind. But that is the wrong go-to! That is the way downhill to more stress and discouragement.

God is our Go-to! Are you going to your Go-to?

When You're Waiting...

    Yesterday I had to go to The Little Haven at 8:00 am to unlock the doors. My husband, Johan, had organized for someone to come and fix the heat pump. Since Johan was working, he asked me to go down and open up. But it had been organized at a least 1-2 weeks before. The night before I was thinking how I was going to get down there with four children by 8:00am. I wondered if they were still planning on coming as we hadn't heard anything since. They were also traveling at least an hour to get there. So I wrote down the contact number to take with me incase they didn't turn up.

    The next morning we all got dressed, had an early breakfast and drove down. I parked around the front and unlocked both the front and back door as I didn't know which door they would come too. I asked two of my children to take their game to the kitchen at the back so they would see if anyone came to the back door. I waited in the car around the front with my two other children. At 8:10 we were still waiting. I didn't mind waiting, but I wanted to know for sure that they were actually coming. So I texted the mobile number I had to ask. I got an answer confirming that they were on their way. So we waited and waited. Finally, around 8:30 they turned up and we could go back home again till they were finished.

    Waiting can be hard. Especially when you're not 100% sure that what you're waiting for is definitely coming. It can be so easy to doubt! For me I had to trust the person's email. And then when they were late and I sent a message, I had to trust their reply message that they were on their way. Even though for a while I could see no sign of them, I had to trust their promise. I also had to be prepared for them to come to both doors.

    It's the same with God. In the waiting times, we need to trust His words. His promises. Maybe we need to ask for confirmation when we're unsure. But we need to take Him at His word even when we can't see any sign of an answer yet. His timing may be different from ours. And He may not answer in the way we are expecting. There is more than one door He can come to!

    If there is something you are waiting for right now, stay close to God's promises and trust His Word.

Control, Rest & Self-pity

(Friendship Cookies Recipe below)

Today I share some thoughts on control, rest and self-pity. Also a recipe that Hannah's just learned that is really yummy, a new song I learned and a glimpse from our week.

Friendship Cookies

(shortened version of the recipe!)

250g porridge oats

125g chocolate chips

125g soft brown sugar

2 eggs (beaten)

125 g softened butter

Preheat oven to 200C. Tip the oats, chocolate chips and sugar into a large bowl and mix together well. Add beaten eggs and butter, stirring constantly until you have a rough dough. Make small balls the size of a ping-pong ball and put on lined tray. Cook for 8 minutes.

A Streams in the Desert poem that I put to a tune.

Lockdown Fun...

 Today I share about what we've been doing during lockdown, some Christian movie recommendations, a sermon, how I stay organized and some other thoughts and tips.

Three Fun Scrabble Games, The Best Recipe etc.

(Oat Slice and Toad in the Hole Recipes below.)

In today's video the children and I show you our three favourite scrabble games. They are fun to play for all ages. I also show you my new best recipe, which is frugal, simple and easy, delicious and reasonably healthy. Included is some slowcooker ideas, a tip for Bible reading and some thoughts on discouragement (Why we get discouraged, how to avoid discouragement and some thoughts about one of the reasons for discouragement).  A few weeks ago in one of my videos I shared a meal that my children really enjoyed--Toad in the Hole. But I forgot to type out the recipe. So I've typed it out now.

Oat Slice

125g butter (1/2 cup)

3/4 cup sugar (if you're not using chocolate drops, you could use a whole cup of sugar.)

2 tblsp golden syrup

1 egg

1 cup flour

1tsp baking powder

1 cup coconut

1 cup rolled oats

2 cups assortment of dried fruits, seeds, nuts and chocolate (or use 2 kinds--eg. apricot and chocolate, or chopped nuts and chocolate, cranberries and white chocolate etc.)

Line slice tray. Soften butter (or use margarine) and beat with sugar. Add egg and golden syrup and beat. Add flour and baking powder. Combine butter and flour mixture. Add coconut and rolled oats and stir. Add assorted nuts, choc and fruit. Press into tin.

Cook for 30-35 minutes at 180C.

Toad in the Hole

oil for greasing

3/4 cup plain flour

pinch of salt

egg, beaten

300ml milk

450g sausages

1tblsp oil

Grease baking dish. Make the batter by sifting the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the beaten egg and half the milk. Carefully stir the liquid into the flour until the mixture is smooth. Gradually beat in the remaining milk. LEAVE TO STAND FOR 30 MINUTES.

Preheat oven to 220C. Prick the sausages and place them in the dish. Sprinkle over the oil and cook the sausages in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour the batter over the sausages. Return to the oven and cook for 34-45 minutes until the batter is risen and golden brown.

Serve immediately

Rest, Loving Your Children...

 

In this video I share some thoughts on rest and quiet time with God, loving your children and husband, frugal living tips, and some recipes etc.