Universal truths

It is a truth universally acknowledged that any task, chore or undertaking in life is enormously enhanced by the addition of tasteful stationery.  (With apologies to Jane Austen and her fans.) Actually, I accept that in this particular case “universally” may just include me, my friend Shona and teenage girls.

Anyhow, one thing that is beyond dispute is that anything that helps us to pray more, to pray more honestly and to have a better understanding of prayer has got to be a good thing.  And so, this post contains a brief book review and (gasp) a *freebie* associated with that book.

The book is “A Praying Life” by Paul Miller, with the subtitle “Connecting with God in a distracting world”. I don’t know about you, but I live in a very distracting world, and never more so than when I am trying to pray. You can guarantee that all the things I have forgotten I needed to do/buy/say/think will all come flooding into my mind the minute I start to pray.  This book was a recommended read at our church over a year ago so I know that a number of my friends have read it already.  If you haven’t, then I warmly recommend it to you.  It is very easy to read with a very anecdotal style.  Some reviewers have criticised it for this, and if you are the kind of person who finds that style annoying, then maybe you should steer clear.  However, I found that the vast majority of his stories or anecdotes perfectly illustrated the point he was trying to make, and most of them were humble and honest, rather than portraying him as the perfected pray-er.  If truth be told, it is a book that is much much easier to read than to put into practice.  If you buy a paper copy, highlight it, write in it, mark the pages so that you can come back to the sections that challenged you or particularly spoke to you at a later date.  If you have the electronic copy, work out how to highlight – you can probably do it – and highlight as you go through.  I was about a third from the end before I realised I could highlight in Kindle, so now I need to re-read and highlight the first two thirds.  I’m not going to try to pick out any particular points from the book, because there were many many things that spoke to my heart and challenged me about the way I pray, and I am sure that there would be different things that would speak to you.

If you feel that in any way your prayer relationship with God could be better, then get beg, borrow or buy a copy of this book and get into it.  If you borrow a copy, then disregard all my suggestions about highlighting!

The final section of the book looks at ways to help us keep focused as we pray for others – so much better than “Lord bless so-and-so” – as we ask God to help us to pray for them what he would have us pray.  And the same for ourselves.  It is a scary thought to wonder what God would have me pray about in my own life.  I would like an easy ride and un-numbered blessings!  He will want to chip away at the sinful characteristics that I would rather ignore, and I know that so often he uses suffering to make us grow more like Jesus.  Do I have the courage to pray that God would change me and the integrity to really mean it?

And just so I do get the “this is supposed to be a blog about us going to Africa” bit into this post?  Well, let’s just say that it was reading this book this week that stopped me writing a doom and gloom post about how close I feel to just throwing in the towel.  So, whether you have read it or not, you can be thankful with me for this book.

Paul Miller talks about having a prayer journal to keep track of where we are, how we are feeling and what we are praying so that we can look back and see how God answers…. probably not in the ways we expected.  He also mentions having a system of cards for the people we pray for, for the situations we feel God wants us to pray for and for the characteristics we are praying to change in ourselves.  Ooh… a journal and prayer cards? This is a stationery moment!  Which brings me to the little freebie.  I have made some simple cards with a space at the top to write who or what it is you are praying for.  There is space for a Bible verse which focuses what you are praying (pray about what you should be praying first), then five bullet points for specific things.  This may well be a work in progress as I might find this isn’t quite the way I want the cards to work, but you have to start somewhere.

So, here they are as a PDF….. Or if you want to tinker with them, here is the Word version.  Be aware that in Word, the formatting might be a bit ‘off’ because I have used non-standard fonts.  Let me know how you get on with them.  If you would like a variation but don’t feel like tackling that yourself, let me know and I’ll have a go.

And the end result? My new prayer journal (it started life as a plain notebook), complete with pocket inside for the cards:

Oh, and for any non-Austenites out there, the quote I so mercilessly butchered at the beginning is the opening sentence from “Pride and Prejudice”: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Getting around in South Africa

Now that you’re all au fait with road signs in South Africa (see my previous post if you missed that one), it’s time to think about your mode of transportation.  Many people drive cars, although it is worth knowing that manufacturers use the same name for some very different things.  A Toyota Yaris in the UK is a small hatchback.  A Yaris in South Africa could be a medium sized saloon.  A Citi-Golf looks remarkably like the MK1 Golfs that were around in the UK back in the 1980’s.

But if you’re serious about wanting to shift stuff, or people, nothing beats a bakkie. These small pickup vans are the lifeblood of the South African economy, used to transport workforce, materials, tools and livestock.  Quite possibly all at the same time.  There appear to be no real restrictions as to how much you can load in your bakkie.

Although it’s probably fair to say that if the back is touching the ground, you might have overdone it a touch.

There also seem to be no restrictions as to what you can load in your bakkie.

And when your bakkie finally bites the dust, it can be recycled….

However, it is important to remember that even if rules about loading seem to be non-existent, height restrictions always apply.  Particularly when there’s a bridge involved.

The caption should probably read:

“Duck!”.  No, we’re giraffes.

But this is quite possibly my favourite mode of African transport.  We are getting one of these if we ever make it through the impossible maze of visas and school places.  Although, I think I would like a little more upholstery on my chair.  Not to mention a small fridge to chill my cooldrink (soft drink).  One of the children can stand behind me with a sun umbrella.

Now, all we have to do is get ourselves to South Africa!

Signs of South Africa (part 1)

When I was a child growing up in South Africa, this was, sadly, a sign you could often see: 

You might find this in a number of places – park benches, public toilets, even beaches.  It is hard for those of us who never experienced being on the receiving end of these prohibitions to understand how hurtful and humiliating it must have been to find yourself excluded not only from voting, from access to good education, from political power, from economic power but even from beaches and benches.

Thankfully, those days are past, and nowadays, South Africa will entertain you with a whole range of other signs, many of which demonstrate the (sometimes quirky) sense of humour which prevails.  Here are a few to entertain and amuse…

Some road signs are just downright confusing. But apparently all roads (or at least two of them) lead to Roossenekal. And don’t even think about trying to get to Lydenburg!

Generally though, if you just obey what the signs tell you do do, you’ll be fine….

There is a solution to those pesky confusing signs though.  Put them to an alternative use:

With a little bit of creativity and a good sturdy pair of tin snips, you have yourself a nice, watertight little home.  No need for any exterior painting – that seems to have already been done.  And there was even a little bit left over.

We also like to encourage motorists to slow down and be careful of the local wildlife.  Apparently its the principle of the thing that counts, rather than actual accuracy in representing the particular animal species at risk.  Or then again, perhaps it’s just a reference to your driving?

And be under no illusion about the quality of the roads, particularly in more rural areas.  That is going to be a long journey – let’s hope there are no fizzy drinks in that trailer.

In certain areas, you need to double check under your car before getting back in…..

And in case you weren’t too sure what the words mean, there’s a nifty little picture in the bottom left corner showing your friendly local penguin mechanic checking out your exhaust.  Or cutting your brake cables – you can never be too sure with those penguins.

But wherever you drive on the roads in South Africa, you will always be warned to watch out for the white taxi bus drivers. They have a unique driving style although since regulations about the roadworthiness of their vehicles have been tightened up, at least you are less worried that bits of their bus will fall off and hit you.  It’s best to still give them a wide berth …. although at least this guy needs to be given the credit for his honesty. There are plenty more where these came from.  Watch out for part 2.

God doesn’t change, so why should we?

Perhaps understandably, I’ve been thinking a little bit about change lately.  Can’t think why….

As well as the one or two teeny-weeny changes we are facing in our own life, our church is going through a period of change as well as we prepare for moving to having two morning services.  What a thrilling problem for a church leadership to have to deal with: how to cope with too many people!  It’s a little strange being around while these things are talked about, knowing that we may well not be here when they arrive.  I have to confess to being a little worried until I realised that the item on the notice sheet called “2am services” was not referring to the start time.

The Bible tells us that God doesn’t change.  He is from everlasting to everlasting, he never changes his mind, he is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  And when we live in a world of constant change, the unshakeable nature of our God can be a huge encouragement to us.

So if God doesn’t change, why should we?

God is perfect, we are not.  It’s pretty obvious really.  Sometimes we have to change our position on something because we were wrong in the first place.  We should be constantly changing to be more like Christ.  And how thankful I am for the power of the Holy Spirit in me to make that possible.

God doesn’t change, but events and situations do.  The Bible sees the history of the world as a linear process – moving from a point to another. Buddhists have a cyclical view of history, made up of repeating eras. We know that the world had a beginning (Genesis 1) and that one day life as we know it here on this world will come to an end when Jesus returns again.  The very fact that we believe in a linear view of history means that change is inevitable as events move forward along the line of time.

The narrative of Scripture is full of changes in the lives of individuals and nations, from Adam and Eve’s exile from Eden right the way through to John’s exile to the island of Patmos. In every part of Old Testament narrative we read the account of a God who is taking his people through a constantly changing series of events, whether that be exodus or exile. Change is inevitable. The very fact that we have so much prophecy in the Old Testament is an indication that change happens.

God uses change as one way of working in us to make us more like Jesus.  I was reading Isaiah 43 the other day – a chapter that speaks to us about the challenges of change and of the ultimate purpose of any change God brings about in our life.  The chapter opens with God speaking gently to his people to remind them that he made them, he knows them and he loves them.  By extension therefore, he understands that some people will find change harder to deal with than others.  He reminds them of all the mighty works of power he did for them in the past. Then, he tells them to forget the former things and to stop dwelling on the past, calling them to look ahead and see the great things he is going to do.  We are encouraged throughout the Bible to remember all the good things that God has done for us in the past, but the purpose of that looking back is always to strengthen and encourage us as we move forward.  Here, God speaks to a people who were a much diminished group of people compared to the great days of David’s kingdom and whilst reminding them of what he did in the past, urges them to be looking forward to see what great things he is going to do in the future. And the outcome he wants from the changes to come? That the people he formed for himself might proclaim his praise.  All God does is for the purpose of bringing glory to himself.  All that we do should be for the same purpose; as the Westminster catechism says: “The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

There’s a challenging question: in any changes that come, can I face them and live through them in a way that is glorifying to God?  In and of myself, no.  By the power of the Holy Spirit and with a humble awareness of my own sinful nature, I will try to.

By nature, I am fairly open to change.  Up to a point.  I think we reached that point about two weeks ago when I spat my dummy out, threw the toys out of the pram and told my poor patient husband that I didn’t think I really wanted to move anywhere. Ever. Note, I told my husband.  I didn’t tell my God because I knew that he would put me in my place. And that place is a place where I am obedient to his will, ready to follow wherever he leads me and to walk in whatever path he calls me to walk, because he is my creator, my redeemer and my loving Lord. As ever, God hears the things I don’t actually say to him anyway, and he did, lovingly, graciously and gently, put me back in my place.  He also then answered prayers about visas and brought us to a point where we now have about 75% of our financial support in place – up from 55% two weeks ago.  Such grace.