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August 31 Chicken without a headGee, every now and then I have one of "those" days at work - you know - those days where everyone wants everything done now, and they all ask at the same time! Today was one of those, and it came hard on the heels of a really good bible-study. I personally think it wasn't coincidence, the testing usually comes when you think you are strong...
Fortunately I started the day in prayer, and when everything started happening, I remembered that I was not facing things alone, and I was able to tackle things calmly and effectively (for the most part, anyway.) My mission for the next couple of days, and perhaps longer, is to concentrate on being a sunshine person, seeing the good in life and staying calm during times of trial. Obviously I haven't got a hope without God's help, but then I have His help so I needn't worry!
I want people to think of me as a person who is always gentle and kind, even when I'm not having a good time. I want to have a smile available for everyone I come into contact with. So far so good, but there is a way to go still...
August 30 Yeah yeah yeahGod is doing big things in my bible-study, and this evening we began an earnest journey to seek His will in all of our lives. We've decided that it's not enough just to study The Word - we also need to start acting on God's will. We read time and time again of God working miracles through the apsotles and early Christians, and we need to be allowing God to work miracles through us as well.
I firmly believe that miracles happen when believers are in touch with what God wants to do in any given situation. Our mission is to seek God's will all the time, and be ready to be a channel for his power by knowing when and what to pray. I am getting excited about where our spiritual walk is taking us, and I trust that God will lead us to where He wants us to be.
In terms of what God is doing right now - a good friend of mine asked me to find him a priest to help him get started on studying Christian history. He's the kind of person who likes to explore his interests very thoroughly, and I have a feeling that this line of exploration will lead him straight to God. I think God may be calling him even though he doesn't quite realise it yet. (Well, in fact I think he suspects that God is knocking, and this is his way of opening the door a fraction.)
Yeah! August 29 I'm still hereI've had such a busy few days, I haven't got near my laptop to do anything other than work! The good news is that I'm getting on top of the outstanding issues I have, so I shouldn't be this busy for much longer.
I'll be flying up to see my children this weekend, and as Friday gets closer, I'm feeling more and more anticipation. The only down-side is that I have to get all my washing done now during the week. This meant that this evening, I got home from work at around six, got the washing going and ate some dinner. Once I got all that done it was close to half past seven, and then I could only start work! Fortunately this evening I have managed to focus well on the programming work I currently have on my plate, and I have made enough progress to be able to stop for the evening.
My client is very happy with the results I have produced in the last two weeks, so the pressure will subside until they think of something else they want yesterday!
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For anyone interested in my ongoing management of acid-reflux, I try to do the following things: I eat three medium sized meals per day, and either two or three snacks in between those. This means in theory that my stomach is only ever empty first thing in the morning. I also try to eat a fair amount of yogurt to keep my "good" bacteria levels constant. Most of the time this works very well, my one real failing being that I love an occasional glass of red wine. This is pretty much a ticket straight to acid territory, but I live in the hope that I will figure out a way to be able to drink a glass or two without huge consequences.
The doctors say that acid reflux can be managed using drugs, but I have a problem with using protin-pump inhibitors because I don't think reducing the amount of acid in one's stomach is not really a clever thing to do. The reflux is not caused by acid, it's caused by the stomach-oesophagus valve malfunctioning, and this seems to be a result of stress. Getting rid of stress definitely helps... August 23 The apples of my eyePerhaps God's been reading my blog (or maybe just my mind while I was writing it,) because Angus called me this evening just to find out how I am.
 He's going to be ten in December by the way, and he's fast becoming an engaging and interesting young man! I hadn't been feeling well today because I had a huge acid build up last night, which prevented me from sleeping well. (I need a solid seven hours at least otherwise I feel like death warmed up the next day.)Anyway, I came home early feeling rotten with a blinding headache, and I clean forgot to phone my children at seven as I usually do. Angus phoned at about seven thirty, and it just clears up any doubt about him caring for his dad. I must mention actually that when I was attacked earlier in the year, my children phoned at least twice every day for about three weeks. My daughter, Melissa (6) phoned even more often than that - just to check that her dad was still on the other side of the phone!
God has blessed me with two very beautiful and loving children, in no small part due to the fact that my ex and I have managed to keep things mostly amicable between us. I'm going to fly up to Johannesburg (about 870 miles / 1400 km from Cape Town where I live) next week Friday, and I will spend the weekend with them. After that I will visit them again late September for their spring break. I'm going to spend ten days with them during the holiday, so we should have time to make many happy memories!
Every time I think about them, I realise that they are growing up faster than I ever could have imagined, and almost every week they find some new way to make me proud. Melissa is a girl after her daddy's heart, because she shares my fascination with all things mechanical, and my love of reading. Angus reads too, but I think for him it takes second place to interactive activities like being outdoors and playing video games.
That may still change though, when his sister starts reading longer books (she's still learning as fast as she can at the moment.) Once she begins reading the same kind of books that he does, I think he may feel that it's necessary to stay ahead - we'll see. I really want them to read a lot if at all possible - reading makes such a difference to a person's grammer, vocabulary and ability to spell. Many careers call for writing skills these days, so they both need all the skill they can get. Of course no child is planning for their long term future at ten, but as parents, we can try to steer them in directions which will stimulate their intellects.
One thing that always melts my heart is when I first see them after a long absence. They always come running and then cling to me for many minutes, just enjoying the feel of dad in their arms. It's always a truly special moment for me. For the next hour or two after that, it's a constant stream of news, their little minds unloading every tiny fact and every interesting story they haven't told me while I've been away. They seldom tell me much on the phone, so they always have a million things to share! As a father, I have to mentally prepare myself for those first couple of hours, because invariably I arrive tired and irritated from flying, and I need to be ready for their initial excitement.
Still, despite the challenges of arriving I cherish those times in my heart, because once I've been and gone they are all I have to keep me going until the next visit. I may have mentioned in my blog before, that I hope maybe one day God will make a way for me to live closer to them. I trust in His divine wisdom though, and I know that I will end up where I need to be. August 22 My sonMy son got back from a trip to Scotland on Sunday, so we're back to chatting on the phone every day. What amazes me is that he's come back a different person. He's a lot more confident than he was when he left, and I think our relationship has changed in some ways. I've been learning to trust my instincts recently, and my instincts tell me that he views me differently to what he used to. That might be good or bad, I'm not sure which yet.
I will be visiting him soon though, so I guess I will know how things have changed then. Still, I can't help wondering what influence his grandparents might have had on him. They are strange at the best of times, and they hate my guts after the divorce. Oh well, the truth will prevail in the end (it always does) so I shouldn't really be concerned. I just hope my son isn't becoming a stranger.
Friends will be friendsI went to work this morning feeling much the same as I have the whole of the past few days. My work day passed fairly smoothly, and once again I felt very much like a spectator at the event. I got home at about six, had a nap, prepared and ate dinner, and then took myself of to bowling league. I played fairly reasonably for a change, and my team won the match 4-3. So far so good ...
Afterwards, one of my mates, Paul, convinced me to stay for a drink, and that's where everything took a turn for the better. I sat down with all the post bowling regulars and we chatted about this and that. As I was sitting there it dawned on me how important love and friendship is in our lives. Paul virtually begged me to join them, and it occurred to me that these people enjoy me just the way I am. I don't always have a great deal to say, and I usually leave early, but they still love to have me join them.
I drove home basking in the warmth of friendship, the kind that people show you when they accept you just the way you are. Thank heavens for friends and loved ones, they are what make life worth living. I'm feeling fairly confident that my week is going to improve steadily from this point on, and even though I'm blogging at an insane hour, I still feel energised and ready to face the world tomorrow (or is that later today!?)
God bless all my friends, those here with me and those far away. August 20 SpectatorI'm struggling for words to explain the way I've been feeling the last couple of days. About the best description I can come up with is that I've been emotionally "disconnected." It's like I'm going through the motions but I'm not really there. That's not the worst though, the worst is that I'm not really sure where I am. It's almost like I'm at a film portraying the life of Steve. Very, very strange.
My brain is still functioning well though, and I'd like to write about a film I saw last night. It is called "Sin Eater" and I watched it because it was chosen by a friend. (I used to be a big horror fan, but in recent times I've decided that I prefer to keep my mind on pure things.) Anyway, the plot of this film was interesting in that it explores the possiblilty of people called "sin eaters" who can take away another's sin by means of an arcane ritual performed just before their death.
What I found truly disturbing was not the plot though. The troubling part was that it was very much like "The Davinci Code" in that many of the facts were correct, making the rest of the story reasoably plausible. The big problem is that the film's whole theology is completely wrong! They make out that you can only get to heaven if the last rites are performed on you by a priest before you die. This is very misleading when the truth is that you are saved by God's grace when you ask for forgiveness (and mean it) in Jesus' name. There is nothing more, and nothing less required.
August 16 Could it be?On Monday, March 20th this year at 3:30 am, I was attacked and stabbed in my flat by a burglar. I put up some resistance but was no match for my assailant's knife. On reflection, I should have pretended to be asleep - perhaps he would have left me alone, but I awoke with a start and in my groggy state my decision making skills were decidedly lacking.
The whole experience was horrible, especially since home is supposed to be a safe place. Since then I have become much more aware of the security of my home and immediate surroundings. I have had much stronger burglar bars installed, I lock the door to the lounge and the kitchen when I go to bed these days, and I also keep my bedroom door locked, with pepper spray next to my bed.
This is not the point of this post though.
On my way home this evening I was feeling a little queesy, so I stopped at the local filling station for some coke. (I think the chicken I ate for supper might be a bit suspect, and coke is useful for settling a stomach if everything goes wrong.) At the quick-shop, there was a beggar outside the door, and I mentally resolved to give him something on my way out. As I passed him he greeted me, and his voice sounded disturbingly familiar.
I hadn't had a good look at him on my way in, so I bought my coke, and on my way out I gave the guy some money. I looked at his face, and I reckon he may well be the guy who attacked me, although he didn't seem to register any recognition. I chalk the whole experience up to my heightened awareness of possible danger, because I can't be sure if it's the same guy.
Still, even if it is, it would be ironic for him that he is begging outside a store, while I am fully recovered from my ordeal and back on my feet again. If he's the guy, maybe he will suddenly remember my face, and wonder to himself how I could show him a kindness after what he did. Maybe it will sow the seeds for a miracle of faith in his own life... I don't know for sure, and whoever he might be, I wish him well. August 15 Food for the soulEvery once in a while I experience something truly "out of this world." Today was one such day. Our pianist at church has a son who sings in a youth choir called Pro-Cantu. This choir recently took a gold medal in the world choir Olympics in China, and let me tell you, words cannot describe the performance I experienced this evening.
It was held in a Byzantine style chapel, with a huge domed ceiling. The choir started with a well known spiritual song entitled "Brother let me be your servant." I have never heard it sung so beautifully before, and I doubt very much that I will hear it so again. (I am blessed/cursed with perfect pitch, which means I can hear straight away when even one instrument is out of tune in an orchestra.) There was not one voice out of place this evening.
I sat through most of the songs with a lump in my throat, and I count myself truly blessed to have had the opportunity to hear a choir such as this live. They had a wide repertoire too - everything from religious to folk songs. Some of the best were truly African, with the deep male voices, foot stomping and ladies ululating.
I've been pondering a little while on the impact of music in my life, and I have to say that it is profound. I have a wide taste, which runs all the way from hard rock to Mozart and Bach, and I am seldom to be found without a ready source of music nearby. Long live the composers and musicians of this world! August 14 Just a quickieThey call this area the "Cape of Storms," and today they were spot on! We have had a howling wind and lashing rain all day, and it has been pretty cold for Cape Town. I say that relatively speaking of course, because "cold" here means about 8 degrees Celcius (or 46.4 Fahrenheit,) which isn't really cold at all. Still, we generally don't use heaters in this part of the world, so it does feel cold.
I'm suffering a little with a headache today, but I really only have myself to blame because I was up late chatting to someone interesting! The one thing I never take into account when meeting new people, is how much time it takes! I run a pretty tight ship when it comes to time, so I really notice it when I allocate time in different places to what I normally do. Still, the investment has its own rewards, so I'm not really complaining.
In this part of the world, many people use hired help to get their household chores done, but I have elected to do them myself. This takes a fair chunk of my time, even with all the modern conveniences avaiable to make the work quicker. And speaking of routine chores: Sometimes I think it's crazy how most of us live our lives within a very narrow band, rarely leaving the surrounds of our immediate living and working environments. I often feel stuck in a rut, and I wonder how to break out and experience different things.
Anyway, tonight I will stay well within the parameters of my normal existence, and go and attempt a decent bowling league average. Lately my bowling has been dismal but who knows, maybe tonight I will turn the corner! My time-slot for blogging tonight is rapidly drawing to a close, so here's to the extraordinary... August 13 What am I doing here?I've just come home from church and I'm feeling a little disappointed. I play guitar for the evening service in our Anglican church. This service is aimed at the youth in our area and we like to see university students come whenever it is term time. For a long time, it was just a pianist and myself, and both being long time musicians, we would meet about half and hour before and quickly run through that evenings line up.
Recently though, we have had two more guitarists join, and our latest addition is a drummer. Personally, I was a lot happier when it was just Penny (the pianist) and I because we worked fairly easily together, and our whole lead was acoustic and therefore simple. With the extra guitarists and the drummer, things have become somewhat more complicated, so now we have a rehearsal on Thursday evenings as well.
So far, I have done my part and kept my opinions to myself, because if God is leading this group in a certain direction, I don't want to get in the way, regardless of my personal feelings about large groups. This evening was very difficult for me though. The drummer just can't seem to play at any volume less than headache level! This has led us to plug our whole group into a sound system, and now the whole thing has to be balanced by a sound person. The problem is that the equipment isn't really up to the task, and the whole thing sounds ghastly. Well ... perhaps ghastly is a strong word, but I can't say I am at all happy about it.
I ended up standing closest to our drummer tonight, and for some reason the drums just completely threw me off balance. I missed chords, got them wrong and just generally found it very difficult to play. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't because I'm dead set against having a drummer. I want it to work as much as everyone, I just wasn't coping and I'm not even sure why. Perhaps it was because I couldn't hear my own instrument, which is disconcerting at best.
Anyway, I'm hoping this little rant will help get it off my chest in order that I may feel differently about it in the morning. Forgive me for being impatient and grouchy Lord, and help me to be humble and gentle in all my interactions. August 11 What to say....My friend and programming colleague has a cute saying on his messenger at the moment. It reads: "Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation!" I chuckled when I first read it, and I think it might just have some bearing on the blogging fraternity as well! Well ... maybe it's only me, but from time to time I sit in front of my keyboard wondering what to write.
Usually I think of a thousand things I want to blog about during the day, and then I sit down with my laptop and they all run screaming off into my subconscious! My gmail address is ShortMemory, and it's not by mistake. Last year I attended ballroom classes with a young friend, and she said the best part of it was that she could tell me the same stories week after week, and I would always find them new and interesting! I can't help but laugh at myself because I know it's true - some things just don't stick (like blogging topics)
I'm cheating this evening by using my lack of memory as a topic, but I really need to figure a way of holding on to all the profound things I want to say! Perhaps one profound thing (and one I'm not sure of the answer to) is why I started this blog in the first place!? Truth be told, I'm generally not much of a writer, and my teachers had a tremendously hard time getting me to write anything at all! I've always enjoyed reading, but writing essays at school was the bane of my existence! I would much rather be doing math problems than english writing.
Let's come back to this blog's raison d'être. It actually started on a whim! Last month I signed on to messenger, just as always, and it informed me that a new version was available. Being who I am, I suddenly couldn't live another minute without it, so I downloaded and installed it immediately! Once I signed back on, I remembered why I don't usually upgrade straight away - all my contacts' photos were gone, and the way to get them back is to open a conversation and wait for the photo to load! Aaaarrggghhh! Anyway, whilst doing this, I noticed a little star next to a friend's contact details, so I clicked the link and Voilà! - There was an msn space!
I decided then and there to create one and dump my mind's contents that very same hour. So here we are - my blog's not quite what I had initially intended it to be, but I can't say I'm unhappy with it... August 10 Long time friendsI've just finished a long skype conversation with a very good friend of mine. I logged on to skype purely by chance this evening, mostly to do a search for my brother's ID so I can contact him in Dallas. I don't know the exact name of the place he's studying at yet, just that it's a Methodist University of sorts.
Anyway, back to my mate, Mike. We've been friends for about 14 years now, so he qualifies as one of my longest ongoing friendships ever. He is one of those friends who will stand by you no matter what happens, and during my divorce he managed to give comfort to both me and my ex-wife. He's been through a lot himself, and I sorely miss living close by to him!
As a psychologist, he runs programs which, for me, are rather aptly entitled "The Journeyman." There are some things that men need to work through with other men, like where we derive our grounding and innate strengh from. These days, far too many men have grown up with inadequate father figures and need the kind of support that only another man can provide. He is doing a wonderful job...
That brings me to another point which I have spent much time pondering on: When a man meets a woman, often she will try to "tame" him into a predictable, dependable bread winner. These are all sterling qualities of course, but one of the biggest things that makes a man attractive to women in the first place is that indefinable "wildness" in him. This is what makes him capable of taking on the world and winning! It is what makes him strong and fierce and able to fend for himself and his family.
I really struggled with these concepts after my divorce. For a long time I forgot about what makes me a man, I was all the things that should make me a real catch - kind, gentle, loving and dependable. And yet I was at sea in a storm without a rudder, because I couldnt get in touch with what motivates me, where my passion lies. Then someone put me onto an outstanding book called "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge. His book struck a major chord with my inner being, and I began to realise what I had forgotten during the tumultuous post-divorce time when I was trying to pick up the pieces of my life.
Ladies, buy this book for your man, but read it yourselves first - it has huge insights into the male psyche.
One last thing - I struggled to post this evening, but what worked in the end was to close all my browser windows, and renavigate to my space from Windows Live Messenger. Maybe IE just needed to flush it's memory cache or something?? Go figure... August 09 DreamsI've not enjoyed today very much, mostly because fever's are not the most enjoyable things to live through. The upside is that it can't lsat forever, and it does mean my body is fighting. One thing a fever does for you is force you to stay in bed, and staying in bed results in a great deal of thinking. Of course the thoughts aren't always coherent, in fact they mostly aren't and it's almost like being in a lucid dream!
Just in case you're wondering, I am not feverish right now ... if I were you would be reading gibberish! Lucid dreams are stange things though, and I'm always amazed how amazingly imaginative my logic becomes! Like being convinced that I won't be able to fit the new bus I just bought into my carport. New bus??? Yeah well this is a lucid dream...
Isn't it awesome how varied our dreams can be? I waded through a neverending series of scenarios this afternoon, all thrown together by this marvellous brain of mine, melding seemingly disparate concepts together to create totally bizarre events. And yet all seems quite normal during a dream, for instance, it never seems strange to me that my car just turned into a bicycle, or that I'm wearing my pajamas at school. I never stop to think about how I got there, I just worry about people must be thinking!
One dream I have quite often involves the huge rambling house I've bought just out of town. (I have no such house, but let's not spoil the dream with reality!) The house is quite palatial, has a magnificent staircase in the front hall, and is almost always haunted! Here's the strange thing though, I've never actually seen a ghost in this house, I just know that they're there, and I spend loads of time running down corridors and through rooms trying to find them.
My therapist says the house represents the various aspects of my personality, and the ghosts are the parts that I haven't come to terms with. That kind of figures, after all, who wants to admit they have a dark side? Still, the dream can be quite frightening some times, even knowing that it all comes from inside my very own brain. How little we know about our inner being... The flat mateI lie back, exhausted.
Comfortable in the warm glow of passion spent She knocks, then enters
Wearing only a gown Fresh from a bath I know what she wants.
Her comments are inane but her body, sensuous Her smooth calves
fill my vision as she stands by the bed. Does she know I want her
like she wants me? I look away, ashamed My reply is equally flippant,
the real exchange happening way below the verbal. Today, she is not for me,
how could I hurt another for brief passion? Bridgette, ah ... Bridgette.
Many years have passed, but I still think of you. August 08 He's not heavy, he's my brotherToday was the fateful day when my brother left on an aeroplane to Texas! There were many tearful goodbyes, but we all know that this is the beginning of a new era for him. As his older brother I know deep inside that he is ready to face the world on his own. He is a handsome, winsome, polite and energetic young man, and he will go far in life! We will miss him sorely, but we've both bought webcams, so we'll be in video contact as soon as he gets connected on the other side.
I'm amazed every time I see how he reacts to situations, to see just how alike we are. I was also very passionate about my beliefs at his age, and I saw everything in black and white - just like he does. I can't help hoping that he'll be able to hold on to his certainty about things. The thing I miss most about being in my twenties, is how sure I was about everything. These days I see everything in shades of grey. The world has tired me out and I no longer have the energy to take stand after stand. I've come to a point where I pick my battles, and often I just let things go because fighting would take too much effort.
I wonder sometimes though, whether my career is all there is. Surely there is more to life than going to school, going to work and then retiring to rest a while before we die? I dreamed of making a difference in the world when I was at school, and I'm not ready to let go of that. I still hope that God has some wonderous task for me which will change many lives and bring more people into His kingdom. Choose me Lord, I am weak but willing!
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I took myself off to the doctor this afternoon, because my condition has been deteriorating steadily since this morning. I figured I had turned the corner from cold to infection, so it was time to get help. As it turns out, the doc was not pleased that I didn't come and see him sooner and he sent me home with antibiotics for my tardiness in asking for help. I hope they start working soon, because right now even my fingers hurt with aches and pains!
Thankfully my work week has not been as stressful as the last couple, so I've been able to slow down a little. I can't imagine how I would have coped with last week's work-load in the condition I'm in now! God has been gracious though, and tomorrow is Woman's day in Sunny South Africa, so I have a day at home to recuperate.
August 06 Sick and Tired
I noticed how beautifully the light was catching this rose in my lounge this morning, so I took a photo. It doesn't quite look like what I could see with my own eyes, but it's not a bad approximation. After going out on Friday evening and feeling quite rotten, I decided today that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, so I made a few changes: 1. I bought a new hollow fibre duvet inner - I've been using a feather down duvet, and although it's beautifully light and warm, I think it might be causing an allergic reaction in me. So it's hollow fibre for now and we'll see how it goes. 2. I bought some tonic and metablic enhancer at the pharmacy to give myself a bit of a rev. Hopefully the extra vitamins will help my immune system get back on track. The metobolic enhancer will hopefully make my visits to the gym a little more effective at slimming down my waist a bit. I'm not carrying huge amounts of fat, but my pants are too tight for my liking at the moment! We'll see how things look next week this time ... August 04 Soulmates?Much has been said about people having a perfect match somewhere in the world, and for myself the jury is still out. I've come across a couple of likely candidates in the last year or so, but circumstances have always intervened and I've remained single.
I've noticed a disturbing tendency of women seeming to be available, but actually involved with a guy while they "browse." Just in case you're doing that, be aware that no real gentleman will ever make moves on you while you have a boyfriend! Well, certainly I wouldn't. Call me a puritan if you like, but in my book, stealing another guy's girl is just not cricket!
Another thing that happened a last year was that a mate and I both moved on the same girl one evening (the details are complicated.) We almost ended up enemies over her, but in the end we both walked away in favour of our friendship. Every guy should have at least one close male friend. It is essential to our well-being, and finding someone who you can trust with your darkest secrets is not easy.
Anyway, I've had frustratingly bad luck in finding someone I can relate to on all levels, and the opportunities for meeting new people seem few and far between. At school and college you meet many people all the time by virtue of the sheer size of these institutions, but once you start work, you meet your colleagues and the occasional new-comer in your circle of friends.
So back to the original question - is there one ideal person out there for me? I'm actually inclined to believe that there may be quite a few, and in fact I have to believe this, even if it's just for the sake of my own sanity. I could have sworn I had met a soulmate a while back, but then she found the guy she was really looking for. Doesn't that just suck? I bet countless others have been through exactly the same thing. Fate can be very cruel sometimes. August 03 When the world closes inI'm amazed at how strongly the world fights back when you start to get on your spiritual feet! I had a good Bible-Study last night and came home feeling better about life and myself. I was completely ready for a day of triumph, calmness and gentleness this morning. Yeah right!
The work just flooded in this morning, and I soon began to sink into a mire of desperation at not being able to keep up. It was as if the system I work on just decided to get everything wrong today! I managed to keep things going fairly well until just after five this afternoon. That's when one of my colleagues came in and dumped all over me about a bank recon I sorted out for them yesterday. Turns out I did cause some ripples by "fixing" transactions that were causing the imbalances, but you would think I would get a little gratitude for trying to help!
I guess I will pick up the pieces tomorrow morning and smooth out all the ruffled feathers, but I have to admit that I got really riled really fast. There's nothing like a day of pressure to shorten your fuse.
Thankfully, this evening I had to attend a song group practice (I play guitar in my church.) Why do I say thankfully? Well, about the very last thing I wanted to do this evening was go to a practice when I was quietly smouldering, but when I got there and started playing, my whole mood changed. God always blesses me when I obey Him, and you would think that by now I would have woken up and realised that His will is always the most fulfilling thing to do. Alas ... I am a very slow spiritual learner, and I tend to unlearn things if I don't keep working on them.
That said, I am feeling good about worshipping right now, and God has given me peace about my work. I pray that I will be able to face the world tomorrow with grace and gentleness, and in so doing cause the people around me to experience some of the Kingdom of God. August 01 36 part III
I watched "Superman Returns" this afternoon with a long time friend of mine, Janet, and I must say I enjoyed it except for one thing: Lex Luther got him with the kryptonite again!? Man, oh man, what on earth is wrong with superman - surely he would be checking for that stuff with his x-ray vision whenever Luther was within 100 miles of him? I certianly would, and I think using the same old Kryptonite plot is getting a bit old. I enjoyed the emotional part of the film though, and I felt that Louis Lane was much more believable as a character in this episode. Kevin Spacey was fantastic as the villian too. What an accomplished actor he is! Anyway, after the film I made Janet a good solid Bolognaise with pasta (a firm staple of mine) and it came out beautifully. I received a deliciously dry pocket book called "Rohan Candappa's little book of WRONG SHUI" from an aunt for my birthday, and Janet and I were almost in fits of laughter at some of the entries! My favorite for now is: "Never position a rock near a hard place." Sage advice indeed... By the way, just in case you were wondering, Janet and I have a completely platonic and at the same time very close relationship. We established early on that we would never be a good couple, and so we enjoy each other as friends instead. Works for both us. One more small point of interest for all you editors out there: I have an old-school habit of leaving two spaces behind a full-stop when I write - it just lends a feeling of "rightness" to my prose, and so I always do it. Adding a photo to this entry meant I had to edit the HTML, and it's interesting to see that a special HTML tag called " " gets inserted for each extra space you add between words. (When you add more than one word between spaces.) Weird. Oh! And apropos of nothing really: The pic is of me this evening after cleaning up, feeling chilled and ready to cuddle up in my bed :) For those of you whove been here before, I'm trying a new layout to shorten my page vertically, let me know what you think... |
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