Monday, March 7, 2011
Bearing Fruit in my Winter
Psalm 1:1-3
Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.
I was really touched as a read this scripture over the weekend. I was once again reminded that just as seasons come and go year in and year out; so seasons also come and go in our lives. And yet, when things change and the winter seasons come around, we struggle to keep our heads above the water, not even mentioning bearing fruit! And so the question is: How do I bear fruit in the heart of winter of my life?
We are all planted and rooted in something. Sometimes we choose to root ourselves in our partners, our work, or our friends. But we have to be rooted on the bank of the River of Life. There we will never run out of life giving water, only there will our leaves stay green, and only in God’s river of love will be never wither and never give up.
Habakkuk 3:19 (Amplified)
The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds' feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!
Your winter can turn out to be a season of great strength and spiritual growth as you have never experienced before. If you feel that you are in a winter season right now, I pray that you will allow God to be the River that feeds your life. Allow Him to make your step steadfast; then you too will not stand still in terror, but you will make progress, grow spiritually and bear fruit in your winter!
Much love
Stef
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Healthy Hearts Conference 2011
TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM THIS SUNDAY
Learn all about how to take care of your heart both spirtually and physically.
We are excited to share with you the final program as well as other guest speakers, so keep in touch on this blog and Facebook.
Healthy Hearts 2011, grab a friend and some tickets!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Welcome 2011
As Silk Cafe steps into a new year we are very excited about what God has in store for the women of Father's House. We know that this year will be filled with spiritual growth, the forging of new friendships and learning how to be the women that God wants us to be. Silk Cafe's focus is the be relevant to women in all spheres of life and to encourage all women to be the person that God has called us to be. Silk Cafe is also passionate about being involved in the community and we trust that this year we will be able to help and assist even more with the Zanethemba Charity Foundation.
With all the plans we have for 2011 we realized that we needed more assistance with planning and implementation. We thus decided to invite Cwayita Mdledle on to our team, and with great relief she accepted!!! Cwayita has been serving faithfully at Father's House for the past ten years and it truly is an honour to have her on board. The other members of the team are Sue Ferreira, Nyari Pariola and myself.
We hope that you will be encouraged to join us for our upcoming events, and to get involved with our plans for Silk Cafe. Please feel free to chat to any one of us if you would like to get involved. We always appreciate all the help that we can get.
I pray that we will all continue to grow in our Lord as we allow Him to transform us and dress us in dazzling white silk. (Eph 5:25 MSG)
Much love
Stef
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Finding Peace
Exactly a week ago my cousin (40 years old) passed away from cancer and although he is now in a perfect place, it is us, the family and friends that struggle to come to terms with the loss.
So last couple of weeks have got me thinking about the true meaning of finding peace, the kind of peace that only God can provide when there are tough and trying times in our lives.
These times could maybe be a friendship or marriage that you feel is beyond repair, a loss of a job, or as in my case the loss of a friend or family member. It is then that we need to remind ourselves of the promises that God has made to us and we need to lean on these when our hearts need to heal.
Psalm 29:11
"The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace." (NKJ)
John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I don not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (NIV)
Philippians 4:7
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray.Let petitions and praises shape your worries in prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It is wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." (The Message)
How wonderful it is that we have these promises from God and that all we need to do is call on him and trust in him for his gracious peace and love!
All my love,
Sue
On a personal note: thank you to all my friends for your prayers,kind words, love, sms's etc. during this last couple of weeks, I love you all and thank God everyday for the blessings that you are in my life!
So last couple of weeks have got me thinking about the true meaning of finding peace, the kind of peace that only God can provide when there are tough and trying times in our lives.
These times could maybe be a friendship or marriage that you feel is beyond repair, a loss of a job, or as in my case the loss of a friend or family member. It is then that we need to remind ourselves of the promises that God has made to us and we need to lean on these when our hearts need to heal.
Psalm 29:11
"The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace." (NKJ)
John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I don not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (NIV)
Philippians 4:7
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray.Let petitions and praises shape your worries in prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It is wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." (The Message)
How wonderful it is that we have these promises from God and that all we need to do is call on him and trust in him for his gracious peace and love!
All my love,
Sue
On a personal note: thank you to all my friends for your prayers,kind words, love, sms's etc. during this last couple of weeks, I love you all and thank God everyday for the blessings that you are in my life!
Monday, October 25, 2010
New Connections
What an awesome Saturday morning Stef, Nyari, 12 of the community ladies and myself had with the women of Livewire. It was such a great time of making new friends, ministring into their lives and not to mention the absolutely delicious cake!
In as much as they expressed that the time on Saturday was such a great blessing to them, I can honestly say that we were just as blessed!
So thank you to the leaders of Livewire who put in so much effort to making this day the success that it was, and we are looking forward to the next time we (ALL the women of Father's House) can just "hang" out together.
Titus 2:3-5
"Guide older women into lives of relevance so that they end up neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don't want anyone looking down on God's message becauseof their behaviour."
In as much as they expressed that the time on Saturday was such a great blessing to them, I can honestly say that we were just as blessed!
So thank you to the leaders of Livewire who put in so much effort to making this day the success that it was, and we are looking forward to the next time we (ALL the women of Father's House) can just "hang" out together.
Titus 2:3-5
"Guide older women into lives of relevance so that they end up neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don't want anyone looking down on God's message becauseof their behaviour."
All my love,
Sue
Monday, October 11, 2010
Something for the moms
I am currently reading a book called "Effectively Parenting in a Defective World" by Chip Ingram, and throughly enjoying it (although I am only on page 35 of 175).
I have shared this with "the girls in the office" as well as some friends, but it has really made such an impact on me, that I would like to share it with you all.
At the start of the book he talks about having a positive and clear cut objectives for our children - naturally as a parent you want your children to be HAPPY, not so?
In his explanation this is not the correct way to raise your children (keeping them happy). At that moment, I almost put the book down, thinking "What is this man on about?" Boy oh boy, was I in for a reality check! These are 2 excepts from his book I would like to share with you.
" Because this keep-this-happy philosophy is so ingrained in our society we've bought into the lie that our children are deprived if they aren't invovled in soccer,ballet,baseball,gymnastics,piano and every other activity avaliable out there-all while wearing the "in" kinds of clothes with the right labels-even when their demanding schedule keeps us driving back and forth across town several times a day.It's really hard to resist the current of culture; resistance requires an intentional and persistant effort, especially when your kids try to convince you that you are persecuting them by going against the grain. But if we don't, the culture, not God, will bear its own fruit in our kids."
The next except is in the following chapter and this is the part that really made me sit up and think about how and what I do for my boys.
"This goal has nothing to do with hairstyles and sandals. Neither is it simply about stuffing a bunch of memory verses into your children's head, conforming to the culture of certain denominations or rididly observing a daily quiet time. Our task is is higher and more ambitious than that. In fact, it's supernatural, and will require supernatural help. The point is for your children to be kind like Jesus, disciplined like Jesus, others-centrered like Jesus, and holy and pure not because they have to, but because they love Jesus and want to be like him"
So for me, as a mom to an almost 8 year old and 9 year old, there are definitely things I need to reconsider,change etc. and I am excited to do that, knowing what a powerful impact it will make on their lives.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this.....
All my love
Sue
I have shared this with "the girls in the office" as well as some friends, but it has really made such an impact on me, that I would like to share it with you all.
At the start of the book he talks about having a positive and clear cut objectives for our children - naturally as a parent you want your children to be HAPPY, not so?
In his explanation this is not the correct way to raise your children (keeping them happy). At that moment, I almost put the book down, thinking "What is this man on about?" Boy oh boy, was I in for a reality check! These are 2 excepts from his book I would like to share with you.
" Because this keep-this-happy philosophy is so ingrained in our society we've bought into the lie that our children are deprived if they aren't invovled in soccer,ballet,baseball,gymnastics,piano and every other activity avaliable out there-all while wearing the "in" kinds of clothes with the right labels-even when their demanding schedule keeps us driving back and forth across town several times a day.It's really hard to resist the current of culture; resistance requires an intentional and persistant effort, especially when your kids try to convince you that you are persecuting them by going against the grain. But if we don't, the culture, not God, will bear its own fruit in our kids."
The next except is in the following chapter and this is the part that really made me sit up and think about how and what I do for my boys.
"This goal has nothing to do with hairstyles and sandals. Neither is it simply about stuffing a bunch of memory verses into your children's head, conforming to the culture of certain denominations or rididly observing a daily quiet time. Our task is is higher and more ambitious than that. In fact, it's supernatural, and will require supernatural help. The point is for your children to be kind like Jesus, disciplined like Jesus, others-centrered like Jesus, and holy and pure not because they have to, but because they love Jesus and want to be like him"
So for me, as a mom to an almost 8 year old and 9 year old, there are definitely things I need to reconsider,change etc. and I am excited to do that, knowing what a powerful impact it will make on their lives.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this.....
All my love
Sue
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