The Hope of Spring

 There’s something about the changing seasons that causes me to stop and reflect. It’s quite amazing how our surroundings can affect us. On a beautiful, cool spring day, my heart fills with joy and peace.

Spring has finally come to South Africa. There’s something about spring that renews my hope. What was once dead and brown suddenly transforms into something beautiful. New things begin to grow; flowers appear, the grass slowly turns green, leaves adorn the trees in glory once more and the birds sing their melody yet again. And the sweet aroma in the air....I can’t describe it; all I know is that it fills my heart with joy and contentment. But I think if hope had a scent it would smell like spring. It’s on spring days that I can feel God at work around me; making things new and mending what has been broken. It’s the time we notice the amazing Gardener at work.

Spring gives me hope. It shows me that healing is always possible, even after the most severe winter. Spring to me is joy and hope in its physical form. It paints a picture of God planting flowers in our lives and giving us new life; a picture of God bringing beauty out of the ashes. We must never lose heart, for spring always returns, even when it feels like the cold is unending. 

Blogging Break

Hey everyone, I'm so sorry I've been neglected your blogs and mine! My life has been very busy with studying for upcoming exams, but they'll be over in three weeks time. Just want to let you all know that I'll, unfortunately, have to take a "break" from blogging and focus on school. So sorry for not keeping up with you all, but I do really appreciate all the comments, awards and new followers. "See" you in three weeks time! :)

Music Videos

So today, I'm going to do a different post for three reasons. One, I actually don't have time at the moment to write a blog post (I'm studying for exams),two, I have never posted a music video on my blog before, so it would be nice to do something new, and three I think the two music videos below are quite amazing and would like to share them. I don't know if any of you have watched them already, but, for those who haven't, I hope you enjoy them.

Introducing Bronte

On Wednesday evening, I got my little black, female kitten. After asking for months, I finally convinced my dad to let me have a kitten. I named her Bronte, after one of my favourite authors, Charlotte Bronte. Here are a few pictures of her (unfortunately I haven't got many good ones yet). She is about six weeks old and is quite a handful! She's playful, noisy, and is still learning that the litter is where she does her business, not under my cupboard, but she is so cute!

Fearing the Unknown

Fear can grip you in its icy claws until you feel like you want run away and just disappear. Fear is one of the most crippling feelings. It can stop you from doing things that perhaps need to be done for your own sake. Fear is what keeps us in our comfort zones and prevents us from making a difference in the lives of others. It is a feeling I know well. There are so many things I’m terrified of, and they are not necessarily physical things. Often the things we are scared of are those that cause us to step into the unknown. We fear when we have to do something that doesn’t come naturally to us. But we’ll never grow if we don’t learn to overcome our fears.

The problem is that our fear only really evaporates when we do that thing we are afraid of. I’m not talking about doing nonsensical things; there are some things that we should be afraid of. The kind of fear I am talking about is the fear that keeps us from walking with God into the more that He has. And walking with God always involves taking giant and scary leaps of faith. Sometimes we cower away and refuse to budge. But we’ll only be robbing ourselves. I’m writing this for myself as much as for you. Fear is often a huge thorn in my side. At this point in my life, I’m terrified of the unknown future. I’m terrified of growing up. I know that soon I’ll have to make the choice of stepping further out of my comfort zone than I have ever done before. Stepping into the unknown requires inner courage that we can only get from God.

Taking that leap of faith may be daunting but what’s waiting on the other side is perhaps better than we could ever imagine. And yes we may fall, but Jesus is always there to catch us. What we have to realise is that God is bigger than our fear and He’s bigger than the things we fear. There is nothing on this earth that is too big for God to handle. We need to learn to entrust our fears to God and believe that He is in control. Taking that step into the unknown may feel like you’re flying over a dark chasm, but it in the end it’ll be worth it..... and you would have learned how to soar like an eagle.

Perfect Patience

Patience isn’t one of my virtues. In a world where fast food, airmail and cars rule, most of us want things to happen now. Impatient and hating to wait, we expect everything to go smoothly and quickly. This world has turned into race course; if you want to be on top and successful, you can’t stop and wait for anything; you have to keep speeding on towards the finish line. And that is a dangerous lifestyle; it’s a lifestyle that doesn’t enjoy the moment and doesn’t understand a God whose patience is perfect.

If God was not patient, He would have thrown me out of His Story years ago. Instead, He shows me His everlasting mercy by giving me another chance. When I fail, He doesn’t yell at me to just get lost. He shows me my mistake and promises to never leave nor forsake me. God is patient with us every step of the way on this difficult road called life. He never gives up on us, He never forgets us. Because of His amazing love and mercy, His patience is unlimited. That doesn’t mean we take it for granted and keep on sinning. It means we try even harder than ever to walk in His ways. God’s patience and love give us the strength and perseverance to keep moving on. When we’ve failed yet again, His patience is the promise that He still believes in us enough to be ever-present in our lives.

Facts on Modern Day Slavery

Modern-Day Slavery

Slaves are people who are forced, deceived or threatened with violence to work without pay and they are not able to leave. They have no rights whatsoever and are held in bondage.

They are owned or controlled by a “manager”, treated as a product, bought and sold as property, have limitations of movement, or are dehumanised.

Facts on Slavery

·       There are 27 million slaves in the world today, and half of them are children.

·       There are more slaves today than in any other time in history.

·       An estimated 600 000-800 000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year.

·      Slavery isn’t legal anywhere, but happens everywhere.

·       Young boys and girls in every city on the earth today are forced into sexual slavery

·       1.2 children are trafficked every year.

·       $90 is the average cost of a human slave around the world.

·       There are approximately 250 000 child soldiers worldwide.

·       Majority of slaves can be found in Asian and African countries.

Types of Slavery

·       Bounded labour: to repay a loan, they are forced or deceived into labour and can’t get out of it, as the loan is never compensated. This is the most common form of slavery with about 20 million people.

·       Sexual slaves:  are people who are sold, kidnapped or forced into prostitution against their will. Sexual slavery is usual hidden behind the word “prostitution”.

·       Trafficking:  the transport and/or trade of human beings: labour or sexual slavery.

·      Early and forced marriage.

·      Child labour: many children are sold into labour by deception or force; they work in very dangerous conditions.

·       Forced labour: when people who are under threats are illegally recruited and forced into work, often by governments. Child soldiers are examples of this.

·       Traditional or “chattel” slavery: when humans are bought and sold as products. They are often kidnapped, inherited or given as presents.

·       Slavery by decent: slaves’ children are forced to work and live in slavery as they were born into it. Sometimes the children have to keep working to “pay” off their parents’ “debts”.

Our Part

We are have a part to play in freeing the slaves. Every little action we take to end slavery makes a difference. Don’t be overwhelmed by the problem, start being part of the solution. Here are some practical ways:

·       Pray. Pray for those in captivity. Pray for their owners. And pray that slavery will come to an end, that more slaves will be freed.

·       Create awareness. Tell others about slavery. Let others know what most don’t see. Stir people up to do something!

·       Keep informed. Educate yourself on slavery and how you can help.

·       Donate. There are many organisations that are dedicated to freeing slaves. They need our help and also give other ways of helping. Some websites are listed below.

Websites: freetheslaves.net ; antislavery.org ; notforsale.org