Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Tyd vir 'n Nuwe Baadjie

Dit het tyd geword vir 'n nuwe baadjie, in 'n ligter kleur en 'n ligter luim. Hierdie woes ernstige sake en morbiede gedagtes en idees is goed maar kan ook nie vir ewig duur nie. ........ die woordjie "maar", "maar?"  het iemand eendag iewerste gese wanneer 'n mens "maar" begin gebruik is die duiwel alweer aan die werk. Nou hoe gebruik mens 'n sin in meeste gevalle sonder die woordjie "maar"? Dit is moeilik.

Met die somer op hande en die reuk van reen kan dit nie anders as om 'n vrolike opgeruimde atmosfeer te skep nie. Dit het tyd geword vir blydskap, vrolikheid en nuwe lewenslus. Ai, hoe wonderlik is dit nie om te ontvlug in sorgvryheid van glimlaggies, rustigheid en vrede wat sommer alle spanning laat wegspoel met 'n verfrissende vars bries in die lug nie.

Dan word dinge soos om jou te verknies oor mense wat van jou hou en nie van jou hou nie 'n vae herinnering en verwydering uit jou lewe. Die lekkerte weer van huismense te groet soggens en saans, te lag en te gesels in vrede en rustigheid maak op vir al die donker van die verlede. Vooruitsigte van saam wees, saam doen vir solank as ons geleen word vir mekaar, bring soveel vreugde teweeg dat 'n mens sommer by al die swaar en lelik verby kyk.

Aanvaarding van ander is nou 'n bysaak, die denke van ander 'n bysaak en net om lief te he, vasgehou te word  is 'n Goddelike seen waarvoor daar ewige dankbaarheid sal wees. 'n Genade so groot wat enige mens verstom laat en weereens laat besef hoe Groot en goed ons Hemelse Skepper en Vader is in  Sy ewige Raadsplan en boukuns met ons lewens.

Ook sal ons nie weer se nooit weer nie, want die waardering kom uit lesse van die lewe. Wanneer kinder glimlaggies jou begroet is die besluit klaar geneem om nie weer dieselfde foute te maak op 'n tweede kans, 'n nuwe geleentheid wat vir jou geskep word nie. Soveel waardering, soveel liefde is 'n absolute God gegewe genadegawe wat alle menslike verstand te bowe gaan. 

Daarom kan ons weer lag vir die lewe en weet dat niks of niemand ons meer kan seer maak nie. Niks of niemand ons meer op die grond kan trap nie en stap ons met 'n glimlag deur alle stormwaters met ons Heerser en Skepper aan ons hand. 

Hierdie vreugde, hierdie blydskap is doodeenvoudig net 'n groot wow! en word dit vir niks of niemand verruil nie. So gelukkig was ek lanklaas en weet ek diekeer gaan niemand in die pad daarvan staan nie. 'n Geskenk uit ons Vaderhand. 
Mooi  loop
ETS

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

'n Nuwe Lewe


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Daar is en was al baie oor my gese, gepraat en dalk nog steeds, meeste van die tye agter my rug of selfs waar ek nie teenwoordig is nie. Dit het my net al hoe meer laat dink en besef oor die dinge waaraan ek tekort geskied het. Dit het my ook tot die insig gebring om nie afhanklik van negatiewe kritiek te wees nie, maar het my net sterker gemaak en my na boontoe laat opbeur. In so 'n mate dat ek uiteindelik die punt bereik het waar ek nou kan se: 'n Nuwe lewe met 'n nuwe toekoms wag vir my!

Ek het 'n wonderlike man ontmoet en eersdaags deel ons saam in een woning en in een alles. Met my vorige inskrywing van " 'n Terugblik na die verlede met die oog op die toekoms" het ek nog baie stof tot nadenke gehad. Ek het opnuut weer besef hoe die Hemelse Vader my lei volgens Sy Wil en Sy Orde. Ons beide glo dat dit ons Hemelse Skepper se wil was en is om ons bymekaar te gebring het. Alles voel net reg en voel dit asof ons mekaar al jare ken sonder enige twyfel van beide kante.

Om finaal die verlede agter te los het my ook laat besef hoe mense/persone ander se lewens op "mooi maniere" kan vernietig hetsy deur dade of deur woorde. Sonder om te dink, sonder om empatie te he en sonder om opreg te wees.

Vandag kan ek se, ek hoef nie meer terug te kyk daarna nie, want wonderlike dinge is met my aan die gebeur en bring ek al die lof en eer toe aan ons Hemelse Skepper en liefdevolle Vader.

So het dit my ook gebring na die alledaagse dinge waar die Christendom veral aangeval word en dit het my laat wonder hoekom mense nie meer en meer begin bid om die duiwel en sy werke nietig te laat maak nie? Hoekom word satan se naam nie so hardop genoem en geuiter soos wat daar met Christus se naam gelaster en gespot word nie? Is die mensdom banger vir satan as vir God?

Die satan val ons huisgesinne aan, dring in ons binnekamers in, lei ons weg van Christus se huis (die kerk) en ons is maar net ewe gediend daarmee met allerhande verskonings soos "ja maar dit of dat, ens" Ons sit sport stadions, teaters, filmhuise, musiekfeeste en dobbelhuise vol, maar ons het nie gawes om aan God te gee nie.

Hoekom begin ons nie vir 'n slag vra dat God se Koninkryk moet kom in plaas van ons eie selfwaan, behoeftes en tekortkominge nie? Hoekom bid en pleit ons nie eerder vir orde in 'n chaotiese, ongelowige wereld nie? Wat is dit wat jou keer om jou gesin te seen, God te dien en die satan te vervloek? 

Jy mag maar vir Skepper vra om jou te help in die stryd teen satan. Jy mag maar God se wapenrusting aantrek en begin afsien van eietydse en wereldse dinge. Met alles waardeur ek en my kinders is, het ek begin besef watse groot rol die satan in ons mense lewens gespeel het en nog steeds doen. Dat satan mense en wereldse goddelikhede gebruik het om ons gesin te vernietig en so ook besig is met ander gesinne, huise, skole, kerke en besighede.

Daarom gaan ons nou op ons kniee en ons bid: Hemelse Vader spreek die seen uit oor elkeen wat hier mag lees. Vergewe hulle wat nie wil glo of vertrou nie. Laat U wil geskied, Laat U koninkryk kom en bewaar ons van die aanslae van die bose. Lei ons op U pad, in U waarheid om U Wil te doen. Ons loof en prys U Naam ons Grote God, Koning en Hoe Priester, Saligmaker en dank ons U vir U onverstaanbare genade, vrede en liefde. Amen.

Mag God ons elkeen ryklik seen met voorspoed, vrede, liefde en geduld.

Liefde
E.T.S

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Terugblik Na Die Verlede Met Die Oog Op Die Toekoms



Met die terugblik na al my vorige inskrywings weet ek dat dit dinge is wat verbygegaan het. Dinge wat in die verlede hoort en nie meer hoef gekoester te word nie. Dinge waaruit seerkry, hartseer en swaarkry voortgekom het, maar ook waaruit 'n mens geleer en gegroei het tot rype volwassenheid en aanvaarding van dinge wat was en kon gewees het.


Die wete dat ons Hemelse Skepper ons al die pad gedra, gelei en gelouter het, bring net lofsange en jubelinge voort. Uit dit alles het ek en my kinders hegter verbintenisse gesmee, groter begrip en meer liefde vir mekaar wat soveel kere verlore gaan in gesinne en individue.
Soveel mooi dinge het intussen gebeur om saam weer die toekoms aan te pak. Die boek van die verlede is finaal toegemaak en die deur van die toekoms oop voor ons. Geleenthede wat ons kan aangryp en kwaliteit tye saam met mekaar deur te bring. Die trots van 'n enkelouer op kinders wat tot volwassenheid en rypheid gegroei het, deur die ergste storms van hul lewens kon staande bly en oorbrug. 'n Sukses van hulle lewens en loopbane te kan maak, kom al die lof en eer toe aan ons Hemelse Skepper wat weereens vir ons gewys het hoe groot Sy genade en liefde in ons lewens was en nog steeds is.

My kinders wat hul pad oopgeveg het tot op die boonste sport van die leer met ondersteuning van vriende en kollegas, wild vreemdes en sommer net die wat opreg omgegee het. 

Vandag kan ek se, ten spyte van moeilike ekonomiese omstandighede is daar net vreugde in ons lewens. Vreugde in die weer vind van 'n lewensmaat om mee saam oud te word, te deel en net sorgvry lief te he sonder voorwaardes. Vreugde om oumaskap te ervaar en vreugde om kinders te sien presteer in hul loopbane.

Daarom wil ek vir almal, oud en jonk wat deur moeilike omstandighede gebuk gaan vandag moed inpraat en se deur elke storm, deur elke hartseer, deur elke seerkry, deur elke lydens pad, deur elke vreugde, blydskap, wanhoop, voorspoed - BLY OP JUL KNIEE VOOR HOM wat net vol genade en liefde is. BLY GLO, BLY BID, BLY VERTROU want dit is HY wat ons deurentyd dra, vertroos, versterk, versorg en lei met Sy onverstaanbare liefde en vrede.



Mag God se seen op elkeen van julle rus en Sy vrede met julle wees.


Liefde


E.T.S

Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Passion Pace of Life


March 2013

 

The Passion Pace of Life
 
Introduction:

 All my previous entries were in Afrikaans, my mother tongue language, but for some reason I decided to do this entry in English, my second language. Do pardon me if my tenses and English are not to the standard that you expected to be, hoping to bring over, and express the message I want to transfer to all audiences.

During the last period, past months and years I did my last entry, so many things happened to me. So many people crossed my path, that I started searching for something, that little something to write on, a subject about the people who fascinates me, encourage me, hurts me and just in general. Then I thought of my blog’s Afrikaans name: “passiepas” and not sure in what the correct translation is, I decided to translate if freely and directly from Afrikaans to English as the current topic namely The Passion Pace of Life.

Going through my previous entries, experiences and feelings I realized how much I’ve changed and the need for people to find themselves, and this is where my message starts. To understand exactly what I meant and in what I’m about to say, one might find it necessary/helpful to read all the older posts first before continue reading. (You might need a translator as well)

 Part I:

A few days ago, in prior conversation of about a month with this guy, we decided to meet for lunch. With an excitement in meeting him, I was quite disappointed in my expectations when I met him from eye to eye, and not to see the person whom I expected to meet as from the photo he sent me....yes, photos do lie and so do people! Please I am not judgemental, but realized, except for this person’s polite and non pretending personality, this would only be a pure friendship and nothing else. Yes, this was a blind date... (with no chemical reaction or “click” oh whatever....?). Besides he is nine years older than myself, and I don’t think I’m prepared to share the remainder of my life with an old man, being his nurse and guardian....just for the reason that I still have far too much energy and things I want to do before retiring.

Before we met, he told me of a book he is busy writing and sent me the first chapter’s to read. Of course I didn’t have a chance to start reading the book before we met and it never came up in our conversation during our date. After the date we left off, each our own separate directions, letting him know that he will be nothing more than a dear friend, upon which he was not happy. Thus I decided to start reading this “book” of his. All I can tell is that the topic and subject of his book is not unique, it is not a fairytale, no romance, no thriller, no comic, but rather something between a science fiction, historical and future period with issues in between. This is when I recognized the topic I was searching for all the time.
 
Getting to the 4th chapter of his book, I noticed here is no story, no nothing, starting reading deeper, behind the phrases, looking deeper in what this person is trying to tell, I discovered there is something more about this person surfacing to the surface as he goes on in his “book”. .......I skipped all the other chapters, reading the 9th and 10th chapters (he only sent me the first 10 chapters of his “book” and he is still writing on it. (Wondering if he was trying to tell me something about the Ten Commandments?) which only confirms what I’ve noticed in this person. This is where the friendship ends as well, as he turned out to start being annoying and pestering me for reasons not worth mentioning. I’ve stopped all communication with him and delete him from all my contacts and applications.

Part II:

Realizing deep inside each and every person there lays something mysterious, something everyone is seeking for and something they need. The emptiness of all the men I’ve met before...(like Julius Iglesias song – in my case just men - “To all the girls I loved before”) in a phase of my life, extremely vulnerable after a divorce from 21 years of marriage, and the death of my ex husband after a month’s divorce. Certainly it hurt, surely it was painful, definitely it was traumatic and surely I was left out there alone on my own, and left in the dark to keep standing, fighting for a place in life to carry on.

Thus is where this last date brings me. Realizing people are dreamers, which are good, wishing to be in places where there is only peace, love, happiness, joy and faith. Unfortunately, the discovery I made here and throughout all my “blind dates” is: People refuse to make peace with changes in life, changes in the modern world, and changes in almost every aspect of living. Refuse to accept when bad things happen in our lives. Creating a type of hatred towards others without noticing their own dark hole they carry themselves in. Refuse in accepting things which happens to them, to forgive not only themselves, but also those who caused the pain. Now that is when things like this inner “darkness” surface to the surface, restraining them from peace, love and happiness. Keep on going back to the pass in hoping and dreaming for things that could have been and never might be.

You might be thinking by now, oh what crap is this again? We’ve heard these sorts of stories over and over and over. But have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and wondering how do other people see you? Have you ever thought of it, the reactions and feedbacks of people is the mirror of your reflection? It is so easy for someone to fall into self-pity, depression, hopelessness, not seeing what lies ahead, not seeing where they are going, not knowing the Lord whom is always with us, beside us, in control and on the road with us.

Part III:

Why always going for the good, bigger and nice things? Or assume nothing ever bad will happen to you... Not liking what you hear? Who likes to hear what they don’t want to hear? We only like to hear what we want to hear. Why don’t we start listening to those things we don’t want to hear? Yes, I did highlight listening, because, that is mostly the main cause to failure in any situation / relationship. There is a difference between hear and listen...you hear something but you don’t listen.....you’ve got it?

 Nobody wants to be told how bad or how wrong they are, but we are quick to tell others how wrong or bad they are. Remember the mirror reflection? The proverb/s: The one finger you points to other, the five that is pointing back to you? (Something in that manner) or look for the mote in another's eye and not seeing the beam in your own eye (?).

I went through many and plenty situation like this, my marriage, friend/s relations, my career, family, etc. Eventually when I starts to listen and not just hear, I had the realization of who I really am and the questions arise who were I, where am I and where am I going to. Recognize something about yourself in this? This is also where I’ve realized that inner happiness, love and peace, does not necessarily needs to come from a person or something materialistic, but from your inner self, how you react and what you reflect to the outside.

 This is where the journey with a passion pace of life begins.  The moment you starts to know yourself, when you are alone, rejected and forgotten (or you think  you are, you are never alone, never, never ever. Lonesome maybe, yes but never alone because the Almighty Lord and our Saviour are always with us.). Even if you never think so.

Part IV:

Have you ever thought about the tramp on the street what he/she is thinking when looking at people and begging whilst they passing by? (Perhaps he/she thinks, how silly these people are, doing all this bad things to themselves, worries, money, arguments, stress, illnesses, sicknesses,  etc. Oh shame poor rich people....selfish and self centered.) Have you ever wondered where he/she came from? What went wrong in their lives? Now I’m talking about the real true tramps, not the fake ones as we get fake people everywhere nowadays, in every profession, in every place, everywhere.  Perhaps your life might be fake as well? Living in places of glass? Living with lies, dishonesty, unfaithfulness....etc.?

Yeah, ok, maybe it is due to their own actions as well, but how many of those trampous circumstances are due to another person’s reflections / actions or even one’s own? Just think about it, how you feel when someone swears/shout or whatever, throws something at you, for who’s benefit? What are your actions / reflections towards the people around you and to the world outside that little private personal space? Yes, we all do need that little private personal space sometimes,  but for how long, how far? Isn’t this maybe the reason for becoming self centered and selfish? Building a selfesteemed world of your own...

What do you do with those things life throws at you? Depression? Self-pity? Suicide? Trauma? Divorce?...you swim pappie, you swim!, you start learning to swim! If you are left with enough strength, faith and hope, you SWIM! Only then when you acknowledge and admit your mistakes, your own weaknesses, only then you get out of the water, crawls and walk again.

NO man of human kind will help you to get out of the mud but only you, yourself, your hope and faith in our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ.  Yourself, your faith and trust in God the Almighty is the only way out in decision making taking the right steps in the right direction towards love, peace, freedom and happiness. And if you are lucky, you might find some support from real friends or even strangers you never expected it from.

 Part V:

Using the tramp again as an example. This is the richest person on earth, not even Bill Gates can compare with him. Now you asking how come? Why?..I tell you because this “tramp” is following the Lord, maybe not, but this “tramp” is part of God’s creation, Jesus follower, because “tramp” stood back for others in all humbleness, lost everything and prepared to take on the streets of pain, trauma, rejection, etc. “tramp” turned his other cheek towards the world. “tramp” still belief in our Saviour, our Lord to foreseen for each and every moment and day in their lives. Now that makes him/her the richest person on earth.

There is some part of the “tramp” to be find in everyone of us.  Or are we still sobbing on losses and things of the past? One cannot serve if one cannot projected away from him/herself. One cannot serve if you say you are a christian and does not believe. One cannot serve if you are not prepared to left behind and trust in God. One cannot serve and follow Him if you cannot be patient and willing to wait for His Will in your life. One cannot serve and follow if you are self centered living on your own island and still thinks you believe. One cannot serve if you keep on walking the wide road instead of the narrow road.

So many are saying they believe, they are christians. Are they really? How can one be a christian / believe if he/she thinks  he/she can serve Him and other christians the way they wanted to?

Once realizing the inner self, the crawling begin, the discovery of faith, hope, trust and forgiveness to stand up and to hold to is the ONE and ONLY, BEGINNING AND END, ALFA AND OMEGA - GOD THE ALMIGHTY, HEAVENLY FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT.

 Part VI:

Getting projected away from one self in going forward and getting to walk again, takes courage, trust, forgiveness, faith, hope, love and inner peace. Inner peace from inside you. When nothing hurts anymore, when only memories last, then one will be ready to build faith again, learn to trust, gaining patience to wait and kneeling in prayer, the anchors towards the first steps in walking again.

 Acknowledgement in faith of your Heavenly Father without any doubt, one will always remain in deep dependency on our Creator, God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. He who foresees, He who wrote your name in His handpalms, He who knows you by the name and He who pick you up and carries you everytime you fall. Because HE said: I AM

Know that, realize that, take a look to those around you....the discovery you make might come to you as a pleasant surprise. Open up, reach out for that dream of hope, love and peace through our Saviour, reach out to the “tramp”. Stop hiding, stop sobbing, stop cherishing the past! You are still here, hope and faith exists because God exists and with HIM beside your side, there is no obstacle anymore to overcome and then, only then you are ready to serve in honesty, trust, faith, prayer and giving in His Kingdom.

May God bless us all with His continuous presence so we can became His servants to all “tramps” in adhering and obeying His Will.