Enid Blyton

Posted on August 23rd, 2008 by Annette.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Enid Blyton has just been voted the “most favourite writer” by the Brits, with Roald Dahl second and Rowling third.  She has sold more than 500 million books!  All I can say is that I agree – she has always been a firm favourite and I own at least 30 of the 500 million…  and I’ve read many many more.

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AMDIR and ESTEL – The two kinds of hope

Posted on August 16th, 2008 by Annette.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Heb 11:1

Amdir and estel (Elfish words created by Tolkien) represent two kinds of hope:

Amdir: “an expectation of good which though uncertain has some foundation in that which is known”;

Estel: “a trust which is not defeated by the ways of the world”.

Amdir is hope as commonly understood, based on some level of reason, while estel goes deeper, often in defiance of reason - a “fool’s hope” based on the irrational or the radical.

If we place our faith in things hoped for from our perspective, our faith will eventually fail, because this kind of hope does disappoint.  If we can make the shift to estel hope, placing our trust in the person of God, in the truth that one day Jesus will return in triumph, that He will work out all things for good, then we have a hope of which we can be sure, and faith will be the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Then, because of estel, our hope for victory in the ultimate war, we can go on today… even if we stand before a battle we know we can’t win (but may because of a miracle of God).  This hope makes it possible to persevere to the end - even when it looks although there is no hope (amdir).  We can have courage unto death.  We can do what needs to be done, even paying a price we did not expect – we can carry on in the face of the loss of amdir because of estel.

This doesn’t mean we cannot hope for specific things, just that this hope often doesn’t work out.  Our hearts never need to grow sick if we ultimately cling to estel - the solid hope that God will work all things for good, even those that disappoint us…

(Reference – Hollywoodjesus.com 2005)

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My take on hope

Posted on August 16th, 2008 by Annette.
Categories: Reflections on the Bible.

I have been following the discussion on hope on http://www.thebreadandwine.org/blog… Here is my take on hope.

Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  Romans 5:5

Yet, if you are honest, you probably will acknowledge that there have been times when you have been disappointed… when hope did disappoint.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick. Proverbs 13:12.

I believe the problem of hope, leading to desperation, and even to forsaking trust in the Lord, is the fact that so many times people place their hope in the specific things they want to see happen and pray for - “trust the Lord for”.  When disappointment strikes – especially a multitude of times – their hearts become sick, and God not trustworthy.

We should be putting our hope in the person of God, who works all things for the good of those who love him, rather than in the specific things we want to see happen. Which has at its core another problem - we do not really believe Rom 8:28 to be true…

I have a deal with God.  I pray for the specific things I hope for, because those are what I hope will happen looking at reality from my perspective.  He, however, must please answer my prayers not according to what I pray, but according to what he knows from his bigger perspective is the best.  I learned to do this because in years past I have at times been extremely disappointed when things didn’t work out that I had hoped and prayed would happen…  only to see a couple of months down the line what would have happened had God answered my prayer, and being so thankful that he hadn’t.

There are actually two kinds of hope, and understanding the difference between amdir and estel (the two words for hope in the Elfish tongues Tolkien created) makes all the difference in the world.  To be continued…

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Get out of jail free

Posted on August 12th, 2008 by Annette.
Categories: Uncategorized.

One of the tickets we all hope for when playing Monopoly…  Today, at the beginning of a 12-year sentence I presume the Waterkloof-4’s greatest wish!  They paid a lot of money in legal costs and still did not succeed in acquiring what would for them mean normal life: a get-out-of-jail-free-ticket.  One night of stupidity, years of – probably very uncomfortable – consequences.

Eternally speaking there is a “get-out-of-jail-free-ticket” available for all people in the person of Jesus Christ.  100% grace…  However, here on earth one of the biggest lessons to be learnt is that of sowing and reaping – of actions having consequences.  A lesson which when learnt, makes us think twice…

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Body talk part 3

Posted on August 6th, 2008 by Annette.
Categories: Thoughtful.

God made the world with just one type of bird, one type of flower, of tree and of animal.  Sorry, I mean He made many types, but just one is beautiful.  Actually it was all a mistake, because all should have looked like this one type that is beautiful…

In the same way, there is just one temperament, just blonde hair and a fabulously thin body that is attractive, the rest were mistakes that happened by accident.

This is the truth isn’t it?

If it isn’t, why do we live as though it is??????

We need to embrace the variety of beauty.  We must believe either that God made a mistake in creating variety, or we must embrace the beauty of variety!!!  Instead of being upset because you are taller than the average, realize that it is your length that is your uniqueness, your beauty!

We must also learn to embrace function (described in the previous blog).

But what if your body is your enemy (or became your enemy due to post-natal consequences)?  The Bible is pretty clear:  “Love your enemies and do good to them”.  (Luke 6:27)

Scott Peck defines love as the will to extend yourself for the sake of nurturing yourself or others.  It is an act of your will.  You can love yourself even if you don’t like everything about yourself. 

So go ahead and care for your body.  Rub in whatever form of vitamin E oil you prefer to get rid of those stretch marks.  Make sure you eat healthy, exercise moderately (at least) and drink a lot of water – or whatever way works for you.  Drink whatever vitamins you want.  But do not allow body issues to take up your emotional energy – or determine or destroy your self concept.

Remember Proverbs 31:30 that reads: “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting (and if motherhood stole some of your beauty, so be it), but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

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Body talk part 2

Posted on August 6th, 2008 by Annette.
Categories: Thoughtful.

I believe that physical appearance has value. Just not the tremendous value we place on it today. This inflated value of physical appearance is a trap! The destruction of a woman’s inherent valuing of her body cheats her of the confidence that is her birthright in Christ. God never meant for us to live in a society where short woman walk on stilts, tall woman shrink into themselves to look shorter, big woman look like they’re grieving, and small woman pad themselves to look bigger. And He certainly did not mean for physical appearance to be a factor determining the quality of relationship!

Why do we have a body? What is its function?

Our body is a messenger – one that can speak many languages. It speaks to us through colour and temperature. The blush of recognition, the glow of love, the ashen of pain, the heat of arousal…

We think that the soul informs the body, but actually it is the other way around. The body informs the soul. The task of the body is to protect, to support, to fill with emotion, to remember - to fire up the spirit within us.

Our body is firstly about ability, not appearance. The ability to be vital, responsive, and enduring. If you cannot accept yourself, all these abilities are stumped. Feeling is important, not form. The function of a breast is feeling and feeding, if it can feel and feed it is a good breast, whether it is big or small…

“The hips are wide for a reason. Inside them is a cradle for new life… The legs are meant to take us, sometimes to propel us, and for encircling our lover. They cannot be too this or too that. They are what they are.” Estés in Woman who run with the wolves (a book on womanhood that I highly recommend. Especially not being into woman-books.)

We are blinded by the cultural value placed on the body – and this is not going to change. We must change so that the culture doesn’t affect us so profoundly.

WE MUST TAKE BACK OUR BODIES!!!!

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Body talk part 1

Posted on August 6th, 2008 by Annette.
Categories: Thoughtful.

I remain surprised (though after years of counselling I shouldn’t be, I know) about the intensity of body issues females struggle with.  Obviously I have been exposed to the teen and young adult versions of this for many years, but recently I move in different circles (mommies with small children) and I wish I could say I stumbled upon, but no, I was hit in the face with the intensity of body related issues in pregnant and post-pregnant (some after many years) woman.

I cannot help being irritated by their constant bickering about which very expensive product (which delivers only a small percentage of what its advertisers promise) will let those stretch marks disappear, and which of what pyramid scheme’s vitamins are the only ones that the body apparently absorbs, and what magic diet really does work to return to that always evasive figure that belongs to a different season in life…

Sure, after two children my body looks different.  Even if I should ever (not impossible) return to my “when I got married-weight”, I still would not have my “when I got married -figure” back.  This is just a fact of life.  Pregnancy changes you body composition – or it did mine.  Yeh, I have a lot of stretch marks to prove I’ve been pregnant.  Sure breastfeeding each child for a year (my goal) will leave its mark on my breasts… but for me these things are not issues, but reminders.  Monuments to remind me to be thankful of for healthy, vibrant children.

Just in this week someone I know had a still-birth at 27 weeks, a mother (known by my parents in law) bled to death after giving birth to a malformed child, and my mother in law (a neo-natal sonar specialist) saw a couple of serious heart and lung defects in newborn babies, some of whom won’t live. 

To go through 9 months of being pregnant with no complications and to give birth to a normal child stays a miracle, even with today’s private medical care.  That this has consequences on the mother’s body should not take up so much emotional energy!

I believe this is in part due to the fact that our culture totally inflates the value of physical appearance.  More about this in part 2.

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Little bits of trivia

Posted on July 24th, 2008 by Annette.
Categories: Uncategorized.

The other day when taking Bianca to her Clamberclub class I heard her commenting as we drove along: “tannie”, “oom”, “O” etc. It took me a while to realise she was accurately commenting on the pole-adds…

Petrol is still cheap in South Africa. In Zambia they currently pay R20.30 per litre…

Upon noticing Bianca’s hands full of something after washing them with Tecla, her nanny, and trying to prevent what I thought was soap landing up in her mouth, I was told it was lotion. With tremendous suspicion and little reds lights starting to flicker somewhere in my consciousness I asked what lotion (full well knowing there is no hand lotion in the bathroom)? Turned out to be mom’s expensive facial cleansing lotion… Needless to say next time I go shopping I hand lotion will top the list…

My parent’s house, after being in the market for 6 months – and just before they took it out (planned for the end of July), sold on Saturday. Cash. The price they wanted. It was a first come first serve situation since three lots of viewers on Saturday wanted to buy cash immediately. This after a much lower offer the previous week fell through…

When my car was last serviced I was told that my shocks, while still workable, would need replacement soon. Last week I realised that “soon” was due as I felt my car not being quite so stable to drive than usual. It now has its new shocks and all I can say is: “What a difference!”

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Sticks and stones

Posted on July 21st, 2008 by Annette.
Categories: Reflections on the Bible, Thoughtful.

Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me.  The person who wrote this must be truly dissociative… I am sure most people have at some stage experienced the devastating hurt of an either carelessly spoken or intentionally thrown WORD.  This pain runs much deeper, and heals much more difficult than any stick or stone-inflicted wound.

A good friend recently visited the UK and on her return commented about the rampant teenage behaviour she personally observed while in London – public sexual behaviour, open vandalism and substance abuse…  I read a book written in 2002 called Disconnected: Why you children are rejecting everything you thought you knew.  It is written by a marketer/journalist who took a year and just hang around British youth, interviewing, observing and befriending them.  What he wrote was scary.  What my friend observed just the pinnacle of the iceberg.  The British youth no doubt take the lead in a lack of morality, with what we see (scary enough already) in South Africa laps behind, possibly due to the strong Christian heritage, who knows?

Listening to my friend’s comments, which included one of a person suggesting she immigrates to the UK because it is a safer place, made me realise something that I think is significant.  Many South Africans leave the country because of an intense fear of sticks and stones.  The fear and the stones are very real; we just need to read the news for confirmation of the extent of the rapes, murders and other violent crimes that daily affect us.  Many argue that this is no place in which to bring up children.  Point taken.

However – how many of us take a moment to evaluate the not-physical dangers our children get exposed to in countries like the UK – with their lack of morality and hectic gangsterism (violence there after all…) or Australia, with their extreme secular-humanistic worldview?  Might these not be potentially more dangerous to our children – spiritually and emotionally – possibly subtly hurting their souls and minds in ways that might be difficult to notice and heal… and might have eternal consequences? 

Luke 12:4 says “…do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.  But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell.”  Thus fear God, who is the only one with authority to throw into heaven or hell.  However, extrapolating on this verse there are things more dangerous than the sticks and stones that might even kill the body…  God, and therefore all those things that draw away from God… including worldview… words… peer pressure…

 

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Disappearing blogs

Posted on July 15th, 2008 by Annette.
Categories: And life goes on.

I draft all kinds of blogs in the middle of the night whilst feeding.  Only, once I get to sit behind the computer – usually the day after tomorrow – I cannot remember them.  Not even what they were about…

Averaging 2-4 hours of broken sleep a night might be part of the reason why…

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