Time Away

Recently we had the opportunity to go visit some friends and see a little more of South Africa.  Our first stop was to the Kwasizabantu Mission at Claridge. We visited our good friend Bro. Malimabe. (I didn’t get a good picture of him.) We also met Dr. and Mrs. Botha who are the directors of the mission.  After leaving the mission, we visited our good friends Stephanus and Rose Blignaut and family.  We enjoyed some good fellowship and they even took us to see the Indian Ocean.  On our way back home we paid a short visit to the central Kwasizabantu Mission at Kranskop. We enjoyed our time away but it is always good to get back home!

Dr. and Mrs. Botha

We enjoyed visiting Howick Falls.

We visited an elephant part.  The giants were quite gentle.  This one walked right up to the car and even put her trunk in the window.  I was really scrabbling trying to get the window back up!

Our children made some new friends on this trip.

Kosi Bay, Kwazulunatal, South Africa

The Indian Ocean at Kosi Bay

The Blignaut and Geise Families

Politics and the Christian

As I was studying Paul’s message on Mars' Hill, in Acts chapter 17, I found Adam Clarke's comments on verse 21 quite interesting. 

“For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.”

“This is a striking feature of the city of London in the present day. The itch for news, which generally argues a worldly, shallow, or unsettled mind, is wonderfully prevalent: even ministers of the Gospel, negligent of their sacred function, are become in this sense Athenians; so that the book of God is neither read nor studied with half the avidity and spirit as a newspaper. These persons, forgetful not only of their calling, but of the very spirit of the Gospel, read the account of a battle with the most violent emotions; and, provided the victory falls to their favorite side, they exult and triumph in proportion to the number of thousands that have been slain! It is no wonder if such become political preachers, and their sermons be no better than husks for swine. To such the hungry sheep look up, and are not fed. God pity such miserable Athenians, and direct them to a more suitable employment!”

Children see! Children do!

Have you ever heard your children fighting in a different room of the house and you shout down the hall: "Stop your yelling"!  Maybe a little later it then occurred to you that they learned to yell by watching and listening to how you deal with frustrations and difficult things in your life. We've all heard the saying "you are what you eat"!  But on a much deeper level our children are what we are. They are what they see and hear. Lately God has been transforming they way we think about our children. As parents, teaching our children is only a part of the command to "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord".  Every word said, every attitude they see and every action and reaction of the parent is being cemented into their very being as the "proper" way to live life and handle situations that arise.  Parenting is so much more than going to a good church and teaching our children well.  Parenting is first being exactly what we want our children to be!  Luke 6:40 "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher."  Don't complain about your childern. They are like you!

Influence

Parents consider what impact your life is having on that of your children! Ponder this quote from William Law.

"If parents viewed themselves as priests, they would be daily calling upon God in a solemn, deliberate manner.  It would make them very careful of everything they said or did, lest their example should hinder the very thing that they were constantly praying for on behalf of their children.  - William Law

Sssssssssssss!!!

Since we're on the snake story we might as well continue.  In the past week and a half we've seen 3 snakes.  That's too many in a life time let alone in a little over a week! The last two were puff adders.  Yesterday we made sure this one wouldn't do any damage to our children! It was 82cm long (about 32 inches). 

Venemous Intruder

The only thing I don't like about the warmer weather is all the snakes that come out of hiding!  A couple of weeks ago we had a snake in our front lawn right where the children play.  Yesterday we were in the house when one of our sons came running in and said they saw a snake.  Well, we found it and I managed to dispose of it properly.  It was a Rinkals (Spitting Cobra) measuring thirty-nine inches (1 meter) long. We do our best to keep the grass cut and get rid of rats and mice but for some reason this snake was right outside our back door.  We certainly thank the Lord for protecting the children!

SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm thankful for this season? Spring is, without question, my favorite time of the year. Spring officially begins here in South Africa on September first.  We have certainly been enjoying the warmer weather, greener grass in places, and the blossoms on the trees.  Of course I'll share a few of my recent snapshots with you! One of the first signs of Spring here is the appearance of the willow leaves.

Of course pansies are always beautiful!

And in an otherwise mostly brown landscape the peach trees are a most welcome sight!

 Or how about these crab apple blossoms?

 

Tire Toys

Enjoyment does not need to come from a toy box or the store.  Our boys love to play with cardboard boxes and empty dog food bags!  These boys are resting a bit after a long run pushing tires past our home.

Gibbous Moon

Another amateur photographic attempt of the moon with a dead tree branch in the foreground.

Wood For The Winter

The past two days we have spent a couple of hours cutting wood for duration of the winter.  We all went as a family and enjoyed our time together. It was great watching the dead tree come crashing to the ground.  The boys enjoyed loading the wood and rolling the heavier logs to the trailer.

These pictures are from earlier in the winter - about a month ago.