Andus van Niekerk – a tribute to my darling husband.

Let me tell you about this man, Andus van Niekerk.  He is a gentle, kind hearted man with beautiful blue eyes and ash blonde hair.  His kind and gently disposition makes him seem aloof but he actually is listening to every word I say.  Never judges and never compares me to other women.  

Thinking of my husband, companion and best friend and wanting you to know just how much I love him and how in love I am with him.  I can remember the first time we met.  Both of us still in primary school, he had such beautiful white blond hair and his blue eyes were perfect.  We were good friends and I was his girlfriend for a while.  Then of course we both grew up and went our separate ways.  After 30 years I received an email message from Andus.  “Would you like to go for a coffee?”  My goodness, I couldn’t believe it.  ‘Yes, why not.’

We met at a restaurant not too far from my little town house.  It was so nice to see him after so many years, he had changed in that he grew much taller than I and he was stronger and of course he had load of muscles.  When he looked at me it felt like my knees were going to give in and my world seems to be so unstable.

I was smitten with him from the very start.  

We decided to get married and I had to make the most difficult decision in my life, leave my job, my children and everything familiar to me and move to a little town with bad water and almost no electricity.

To encourage me, he sent me to attend some fine arts classes, I love to paint, my flowers came out beautiful, I am painting when I can. I enjoyed being able to express myself in an artistic manner.  Then I wanted to try my hand at writing my own blog, he set me up and today I am writing away.  I actually have so much to say thank you.

He truly completes me and we have been married for two years and this time seems to fly.  He has a strange sense of humour and he can laugh at me and find many of the things I say and do fun.  I am of course so grateful for all he does for me.  I love the smell of him, his hands looking for mine when we walk around the shops, the opening and closing of the car door.  He would check on me constantly to make sure I am happy and comfortable, never once complaining about his own needs.

I truly love him and I want him to know that he completes me; he is my best friend and my confidant I cannot see my way forward without him.  I feel like I am the luckiest woman alive. 

‘Bokkie, baie dankie vir alles wat jy vir my doen, sonder jou kan ek nie my lewe voorstel nie.’

God's anointed!

It was so hot and dry you could taste the dust in your mouth.  Miriam was standing in her tent watch the children playing outside in the heat.  She was sticky and hot and irritated today.  This Cushite wife of Moses wasn’t as far as Miriam was concerned a proper wife for an important person like Moses.  There were so many beautiful white women in their camp that he could have taken any one of them to be his wife.  But can you believe her brother decided on marring a black woman. Walking around her tent with her mind mulling over the situation she stopped a moment and then walked over to Aaron.  Aaron was sitting in the doorway of the tent relaxing as he had done most of his duties earlier in the morning.  Looking up at his sister walking towards him with her black curly hair tied up.  As she came closer she sat down next to him on the mat in the doorway of the tent.

‘You know Aaron, I really don’t understand Moses.’ Miriam said as she looked up at Aaron.  Turning his face towards Miriam he smiled and asked her ‘what are you on about Miriam?’  Aaron’s long beard was curly and you could see patches of grey in the beard.  

‘I wonder do you think God can only speak through Moses.’  She said as she sat on that mat and stared out the tent.  Children were running up and down in front of their tent.

‘I don’t know Miriam, hasn’t God also spoken through us?’  Aaron looked at his sister sitting in the doorway.  

With the two of them discussing Moses they never thought that the Lord God was omnipresent and was actually listening to their discussion.  Really getting angry with the two of them the Lord God called Moses, Aaron and Miriam to the Tent of Meeting.

Moses was a very humble man; in fact he was the most humble man on the face of the earth.

Moses walked with Aaron and Miriam towards the tent and they got talking. ‘I wonder why the Lord God has called us together.’  Aaron stated as they walked to the Tent of Meeting. 

The Lord God came down in a pillar of cloud; He stood at the entrance of the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam.

Aaron and Miriam stepped forward and the Lord God said:

“Listen to my words:  When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams.  But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in my entire house.  With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD.  Whey then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

The anger of the Lord burned against them and he left them.

When the cloud lifted from about the Tent, there stood Miriam – leprous, like snow.

Aaron turned towards his sister Miriam and saw that she had leprosy, and he pleaded with Moses 

‘Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.  Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.’

Moses looked at the both of them and he cried out to the LORD, “O, God, please heal her!”

The LORD said to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days?  Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.”

Miriam left the camp and was outside of the camp for seven days, the Israelites did not move on till she was brought back.

A reminder don’t speak out against your Pastor or the Priest in your community, remember that when doing that you are speaking out against the Lord our God. 

My success is Focusing solely on the Lord God

I have made a mental decision that I am going to succeed at everything I do because God has already determined my destiny.  I have been thinking about how negatively I have been living for almost my entire life.  Today I have decided that I am not going to make the same mistake twice.  

I will be a success as I believe God has ordained it for me, for you and for all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

God has a definite purpose for my life and I aim to find out what it is and work towards it.  God is my architect and He is building my life, stage-by-stage.  With God’s word in my hand and me on my knees I am sure that I can find out what, where and whom I am supposed to be.

Reading my daily devotion I have taken something away from it that I am built to become more than I anticipated and I want to be efficient and I want to use my whole being in becoming a fully developed Christian.

My past was very trying and I cried so much, I never realised that God was making me stronger to stand up for myself, preparing a solid foundation in me so that I may take the pressure that comes with His blessings.  Making me flex all my muscles and building my faith so that I can withstand the fiery darts of the devil.  Making stand against all the storms in my life, helping me grow spiritual, physical and mentally.  Ready to receive all the blessings God has in store for my life.

Isaiah 27: 2 – 3 In that day – “sing about a fruitful vineyard:  I, the LORD, watch over it; I water it continually.  I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.”

Building a relationship with the Lord God

Darlings how awesome is our Lord God, lets focus on God’s word today and see what He is telling us in Isaiah 43: 25 lets read this ‘I (God), even I (God), am he (God) who blots our your (me/you) transgressions, for my(God) own sake, and remembers your (me/you) sins no more.’

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Wow, now as far as I can see God is telling me and you today that God is blotting out my/your transgressions!  So what are transgressions?  It could be something you did wrong, or a disobedience, or offenses?  Now God is stating that He is doing this for His (God’s) own sake, and believe it or not He (God) is forgetting your sins.

How awesome is our God, the things we did wrong and we have confessed them to Him in humble prayer or confessions.  God heard them and is saying to you and me – He is blotting them out for God’s own sake!!!!  

A quote I read early this morning ‘When in doubt, choose change.’  I believe that if you are doubting your situation and you don’t know what, where or how, choose to change it.  Start with a conversation with our Lord God.  Sit down, tune into God’s word and check out what He has to say to you today. 

Father God, in the Holy Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, I am choosing to change my point of view, I am going to stay focused on You Lord.  I am going to embrace You and I am going to come into Your presence and argue my case, I have been chosen by You, You called me by name, You loved me so much Lord that You gave Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my transgressions.  I am Yours Lord, I want to stay focused on You and draw near today.  I bring before You all my blogger friends in humble pray and ask bless each one of us today with Your supernatural favour Lord, with You Lord God as well as with man.  In the Holy Name of Jesus Christ . . . Amen

Is God molding you into something beautiful?

In the hands of the Potter

I am the clay Lord and You are the Potter

Life it seems is very difficult and painful

You are forming me and shaping me

Tears run down my cheeks, help it hurts!

Be still my child, I know what I am doing.

Lord please I am trying but I seem to be failing.

The Potter is molding this in to something beautifull

Be still my child, I know what I am doing.

Help me not to resist You today Lord

Guide me and show me the way forward

The bending and twisting of my life is excruciating!

I want to fight back and make it go away.

Be still my child, I know what I am doing.

I don’t know when I would be as beautiful as You

Help me stay focused on You Lord!

Father God in Jesus Christ’s Name I trust You

Completely!!!!

A poem by Yvette van Niekerk