Wonderwerk

en God gryp in
soos vantevore
Hy maak die pad deur die see
die water vloei uit die rots
die donkie praat
die engele sing
ons God gryp in
in pyn en seer en opgee
en weer gaan le
in eensaamheid
en in koud
Hy staan daar en roep

Al wat Hy wil he
is dat ons Hom net sal soek

Grieving

in that moment then when he was gone

my heart broke for your brokenness

and your "have to go on"

and i stretched out my hand

to wipe your face dry

to hold you so tight

until the why's had quieten down

and there you'll remain in cotton wool grace

and mercy and kindness

until you see again God's face

insanity

dream catcher dream catcher
catch me my dreams
before they disappear
in cynical silences
in backstabbing concrete walls
in delirious hatred
in the madness of our time

weave in me
conceive in me
a consciousness of limitless skies
a freedom that won’t let me
lie down, die down
without showing
God is ALIVE

Blue

i got not mail,

no mail i've got
so i'm singing the blues
i'm happy, so NOT

my mailbox is empty
my day is too
cos i got no mail
no mail from you

golgotha

so when all was said and done then

on that day emptier than any other

Your broken body hung there

Your bloody sacrifice seeping into the ground

in the shadow of that dreadful day

the Father’s heart had turned away

You had bourn all our sin and shame

the world had changed, never ever be the same

when all the jeers and insults with venom had been screamed

and spit and blood had mingled

just the crown of thorns remained

i could recognise myself there

staring at a man

i could even hear my voice there

laughing at the pain

so when all was said and done then

or that was what I thought

the cost of that great sacrifice

a sinner/ rapist/ murderer/ thief/ gossip/ slanderer

yes, my salvation bought

when all that i had ever done and yet

would do in years to come

was there on that cross of love

the world became strangely dim

and then it was just

me

and

Him

When you're going through hell....

We've all heard the saying that if you are going through hell, keep on walking.  It just suddenly struck me tonight, that that was what God expected from the Israelites. When He was leading them through the desert.  And there was a message in that for me.

Going through a specifically trying time in my life this year, it suddenly dawned on me:  Keep on walking.  (And this does not refer to the TV ad :) )

I can sit and have a small pity party for myself - I might even have a reason to do so (until I compare myself to others who have so much less).  I can grieve for what I do not have (and grieve I possibly sometimes will).  But when all of that is done, I need to know that I can't just sit and wait for better days.  Or until something changes.

God wants me to get up, and get going.  There might be days where I will just walk, not really talking to anyone, maybe not even to God.  Days where I might not even look up, as the journey is incredibly hard.  Days where I will be thankful for refreshment of God's touch, and friends' and family's love.  There will be water out of a rock, some oases in the midst of that long outstretched space of nothingness (and everything).

God promises not to forsake me.  He promises to show me the way.  He promises that He won't relent until He has my all.  But for now, I'll just keep on walking in the notion that I am not alone.

God bless you today.

Peace

Our world is in turmoil.  A country reeling from the aftermath of earthquakes and tsunamis, the world watching with baited breath as the Middle East and North Africa explodes again and people get killed as if is just another violent movie on TV, the murder of a terrorist (yes, I chose those words carefully), a world economy that is fragile.... everything that can be shaken is being shaken.  We celebrate the death of an evil man, call another's dead children "collateral damage".  We live in a world that has become desensitized to human beings' dying.

People hold peace talks, search for inner peace and decide what actions will bring about peace.  Doctors write scripts so that people can just be more at peace, talk show hosts interview hosts of gurus who will tell you how to find it.

But that's just it.  Peace is not something you can negotiate for (you might find some compromises, but is there peace in people's hearts?).  Peace is not something you can learn.  Peace is not something you can buy and peace is not attainable by filling the vacuum inside with wealth, power, crassness or any other promise that the world media would make us.  True peace is not something you can just achieve because you will it to be.

Attaining peace is hard, but yet so simple.  Jesus said:  My peace I give you, a peace that goes beyond any understanding.  The angels announces His birth with a message of peace to all the earth.

And that's where things seems to get really strange.  From the outside looking in, people sometimes might look at you, thinking that you have lost the plot or do not understand the questions of life. And if you look at your circumstances, youshould be panicking or berating others or at least complain bitterly about life being unfair.  But peace seems to cover over all of those emotions. So much so that you might even question your own sanity.

It gives you the wisdom to know whatever you are going through shall also pass.... It gives you faith to believe in that which you can not see.  It teaches you that everyone in this world get their moments of jubilant joy and their moments of terrible grief.  Peace teaches you that no matter what, God will be their with you. It teaches you that life takes strange paths, but that even if on a physical level there seems to be no open door, in the spiritual, God has not forgotten. Peace, almost like cotton wool or the womb of a mother, wraps around you and cushions you against life's bumps and major disasters.

Peace helps you when you need to learn about faith and truth and patience.  It takes you through the situation where you are down to nothing... but God.
Peace helps you to go on, even where there seems no way that you can.  Peace shows you that it's not about striving but about resting. Peace teaches you to turn, to Him, the Prince of Peace. 

May you experience the true peace that comes with knowing Him.  It is easy, not hard.

(If you'd like to know more, leave a comment on my blog.  God bless you.)