Drawing Pictures with your Mind

In February I attended a Valentine’s Ladies’ Conference at a local church with my two daughters. Somewhere during the teaching, the Guest Speaker, visiting South Africa from Germany, mentioned the peace she experienced when walked into the local church’s Pastor’s beautiful study room. I immediately felt a tuck at my heart. My personal little corner I use for Bible study and working on my computer, fervently came to mind… To my shame I has to admit it is currently in such a mess, I cannot find space to open my Bible or computer.

The Guest Speaker continue her message from Song of Solomon 2. The message, “Come away with me, my Beloved!” was beautifully illustrated with a DVD clip of a young woman following her Beloved hand on hand, through green vines. I experienced the touch of the Spirit when she started to talk about looking with eyes of faith and using my imagination to see things to come, promised to me, by my Beloved.

During the past few months the Lord constantly spoke to me about the word “imagination”. 

In the physical realm, nothing can come into existence unless someone ‘saw’ it in their imagination. After receiving a picture in the mind about something, people run to the drawing board, and from their nothing can stop physical manifestation, of the image.

While listening to the inspiring message that Saturday morning, I saw a picture in my mind of my little corner. Images came to life and I got all excited about things I could change and do, to make it an inspiring, beautiful place where I can fellowship with my Beloved. 

That same afternoon I shared my vision with my husband, especially about something I wanted him to make for me. I also shared with a friend, to keep me accountable. I committed  to change my corner into a place of peace and refreshment, before my birthday, only days after. One important point though, I had a shoestring budget to make it happen, thus making it even more exciting to make use of things I already have. 

Now I’m going to interrupt myself for a moment. I’ll come back to My-corner-make-over just now.

As the Lord revealed to me the beauty of imagination and the manifestation thereof, over the past few months, I experienced an increased hunger to know the Lord through His Word, and meditate on His word. A few years ago I tried memorising scripture through Scripture Typer. I did it on my computer and though I longed to make a commitment to diligently memorise scripture, I didn’t persevere.

As I hungered to meditate on God’s Word, I came to understand the connection between meditating on the word, the renewing of your mind by the Word and memorising the Word. 

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Rom 12:2

I came to realise as I memorised and meditated on the Word of God, I allowed Him to draw pictures in my mind of His will for my life, according to his Word and then it can come into manifestation!

Danika our youngest daughter is a very artistic little girl. She started painting on canvass two years ago and at the beginning of this year advanced to oil painting. I’m constantly amazed at how she is gifted to paint pictures with a brush. She just have a feeling for colours and lines.

In the same way I’m amazed how the Lord can paint pictures in my mind with His Word, as I memorise His Word. Pictures of His goodness and truth, mercy and grace, faith and love. Pictures that make me act in faith and truth. Inspired that I can overcome the world with all its trials and tribulations through the Power of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, who died for me and know lives in me. 

So as I seek ways to memorise Scripture, in order to have more colours to paint pictures of God’s goodness in my mind and I remembered Scripture Typer. I downloaded the Scripture Typer App on my iPhone and seriously started to memorise scripture. This time not because others memorise scripture, but because I need the scriptures in my mind to draw pictures of victory! 

We read in Proverbs 27:3, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” 

Every where you go, the world is pressing to fill us with worldly believes, mostly contrary to the Word. If one doesn’t deliberately fill one’s mind with God’s Word, the world will fill it with ease.  Since I started memorising Scripture I’m amazed how my mind is in the process of being renewed, and how I’m experiencing peace and victory over my thoughts.

Now to come back to My-corner-make-over.  As part of renewing my mind, memorising scripture, I also wanted to surround myself with His Words.  One of the first pictures that came to my mind was to have beautifully decorated words against the wall. I want to see them when I wake up in the morning; I want to meditate on them during the day and I want to be reminded by them when the enemy wants to blind me with chaos in my home. I also want pictures of my family for when I give thanks to the Lord and pray for their protection and walk with the Lord.

So two weekends later I accomplished my goal. My husband made a beautiful frame for my year schedule. I had a ball decorating the words, “Believe” and “Faith”, diving into Heidi-Mari’s inexhaustible source of scrapbook supplies! I also collected photo frames, all had pictures of at least two years ago, from everywhere in the house and replaced them with resent pictures. I hung a rusty cross from the last letter of “Believe”, which I got as a present a year or two ago for my birthday. For this birthday, my oldest daughter gave me a beautiful, inspired word picture on my birthstone, the Amethyst - symbolising royalty and encouraging me in my walk as the daughter of the King. I added a beautiful painting by Danika of bright yellow daffodils, with the cross in the background. And my husband patiently put brackets in the wall and hung my carefully chosen treasures. 

What a delight to now work in this lovely, inspiring place, reminding me of the power of imagination and then acting on those images. 

We all have an imagination…. Who is inspiriting your imagination? Do you allow Godly inspiration to come to life, do you act on them with God’s power in you?

Do you want to join me in memorising the Word? 

It is always easier to persevere when you have others joining you. I’ve created two memorising groups at Scripture Typer. Join me in memorising Proverbs 31 and/or Psalm 37.

Remember: “As he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

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With much love

Linnie

A Party and A Test of Faith

This year Danika and Andrew’s birthday party was a true test of faith, and once again God showed me He knows best and I can afford to trust Him - with everything! Even something as insignificant as a birthday party.

Six of my 8 children’s birthdays are in the winter months, and since we live in the Western Cape of South Africa, we not only suffer icy cold temperatures, but rain, rain and more rain!  Over the past 18 years, I got used to pray for sunny weather, weeks before birthday parties and always had a plan B up my sleeve.  Many of these party dates happened to be cloudy, rainy days, but God was always faithful - not one single time did it rain during the two hours of the party!  

Since the older three children started tennis in September last year, there is constant tennis fever in the house!  In February the children persuaded me to also get a tennis racket and tennis outfit and in March, Danika, Andrew and David started their tennis lessons as well!  In the beginning of the year Danika and Andrew, who have their birthdays one day apart, begged me to have a tennis party this year. I thought it a brilliant idea, but oh, it is the middle of the winter. Not quite the right weather for a tennis party!

Despite all this, we decided to go for it and prayerful planned the party.  Two weeks before the party I started to check AccuWeather. Saturday, the 9th would be a cloudless, sunny day!  But as the 9th approached, the weather changed. On the Wednesday before the party the clouds picked up, by Thursday it rained non-stopped and we measured 35mm in one day.  Friday wasn’t much better and according to AccuWeather the constant rain would become showers only by Saturday afternoon, and the sun would shine by Sunday!

I really tried hard to keep my faith and hope, but by Friday morning I had to face the facts.  The most interesting of all was that everything else about the party was playing out perfectly.  All the special friends could make the party. The party would be a celebration for 4 children’s birthdays. One, the boy of a Friend, who would have a newborn baby the next week. 

So there was no way we could move the party. I was stressed out. How would we be able to keep 30 children busy in the tennis club house, while it was pouring outside?  And what about Andrew en Danika who were passionately looking forward to their tennis party?

After crying it out on my dear husband’s lap, I realized I can do nothing about the weather, I prayed without cease for days and just have to trust the Lord and enjoy the preparations and the day with the children. 

With all the discipline inside of me, I managed to have an exciting Friday with the children, decorating the cake and cupcakes.

All the time I was waiting, hoping, trusting for the miracle. God opening the clouds and sending a bright, clear sky on Saturday morning. Came Saturday morning the first thing I heard after the alarm went off, was the sound of rain…  It rained even more than what was forecasted!  I started the morning like usual with my Hello Mornings Bible study - Love Like Him, and the whole time prayed that God will make a way, or give me peace to accept it and miraculously let the children still enjoy the party.

Came 9:30 the boys were sweeping the court and trying to get the excess water off the courts!  In this they were having a ball, even more when the party friends arrived, who grabbed more brooms to sweep the court, while it started to drizzle!

10:00 came and a sliver of sunshine broke through the clouds and the rain stopped.  We decided to take the chance to play outside and CJ, Heidi-Mari and Josua started the games.  

The children loved it and it struck me, that the weather actually didn’t bother them.

Twenty minutes into the games, it began to drizzle and soon it was pouring.  We quickly went inside the clubhouse and started the party, blowing candles, 

prayed for the birthday children,

handed out cupcakes.

Soon the children formed groups and were having fun, chatting and munching away party food!  

Half-an-hour later the clouds opened and the sun brightly shone down on the wet courts, all the children were out in seconds and the games started all over again.

  

It didn’t rain again, and by 11:30 the sun was shining warmly and the courts were dry.  The children had a blast and they were not bored for one moment or even concerned about the rain, to the contrary it added to all the excitement.  The rain was only bothering me…  It was my faith that was crumbling under my expectations.

This just reminded me again that God is more concerned about my holiness than my happiness.  God wants each of His children to grow in faith, hope, love, holiness - becoming mature Christians lacking nothing, who can go out and change the world.  

I experienced this first hand with my children.  When I’m only concern about keeping my children happy, I’m raising spoiled brats.  I want to raise young, content adults who show the fruit of the spirit, and that is not possible if I jump to every demand they have. Not long ago I read in an Above Rubies magazine, “Say No to your children, more.” The focus when raising children is not to keep them happy at all costs, quite the contrary.  They are born with the tendency to preserve themselves and be discontent - the sinful nature.  We as parents can only break that disposition by training them to lay aside their selfish nature and model to them a content, satisfied and peaceful character in every situation.

But do we as parents allow God to train us into content, satisfied and peaceful adults?  Aren’t we even worse than a two year old throwing a tantrum when things don’t go our way? I almost felt like a two year old who wants to throw all her toys out of the cot, when it seemed like God wasn’t going to change the weather! I had to remind myself quite a few times to practice patience and believe that God would turn this out for my good - He has a plan, clearly not my plan, but it is the best plan.

 

I think unknowingly we believe that when we are Christians all things will go well in our lives (after all God is on our side, isn’t He?) and we will not experience difficulty and hardship when we follow His plan for our lives.  When reading John 15 it is clear God prunes us to bear more fruit. Pruning isn’t without much pain and distress. When God prune us, He is taking away things in our lives, which we still like, so we can focus our lives more to Him.  Do we resist when God prunes us, or do we allow Him to take away what isn’t important in His eyes and be content?

Then we read in James 1 we ought to count it all joy when we fall into various trials to test our faith.  This is exactly what happened to me. God was testing my faith big time, through something as insignificant, but important to me, as a tennis party for my children.  How often does God do this?  The God I know does it quite regular in my life.  My response can be to throw a tantrum, make a new plan, compromise... or I can submit to God, which will produce patience and a growing in faith experience.  In 1 Peter 1 we get even more information on this testing of our faith.  It will only happen if need be, to test the genuineness of our faith, like the purifying of gold through fire.  A few verses further someone who submit to God in testing periods, is called an obedient child, someone who does not conform himself to his former lusts in ignorance.  He calls such a person, holy!

I am a mother, and I believe most of my readers are mothers, so in your lives most probably too, children is God’s main tool of putting me through trials and tribulations to test my faith. This makes me holy and prune my life from unwanted and unimportant activities. This isn’t surprising as we read in 1 Timothy 2 women will be saved (become more holy and content) in childbearing (accepting their role as mothers) if they continue in faith, love and self-control.

Therefore I want to encourage every mother who is giving her life to bear and train up Godly children, to lift your head up high! Your are doing a great and mighty work.  You are tested to your limits, but the reward is more than you can think or imagine! God began a good work in you and will continue this great work in you (Phil 1:6) if you allow Him. 

Don’t compromise dear mother, don’t fall for worldly solutions to fix you trial, keep your eyes on Jesus and He will bring it to pass. 

Danika, Andrew’s, DuPré and Yaron’s birthday party was a huge success! 

The children could easily play for a few more hours, especially after the two days of pouring rain! 

And I …

I have grown up a little more too!

Much love

Linnie

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Happy Birthday King Jesus!

Birthdays are big with us.  Currently we have 10 birthdays a year in our home, and some months up to three birthdays, which make it very exciting celebrating months!

Thus the days preceding Christmas day, the birthday of the King of kings, I was desperately seeking the Lord for fresh ways to share with our family the true meaning of Christmas.  A way to celebrate the Birthday of all birthdays and familiarize it to our children. I longed to separate Christmas from everything common and commercial and make it a special God honoring event!

God is faithful!  A few days before Christmas Ann Voskamp shared 10 Ways To Celebrate Christmas Morning.  As I opened the posting, I could feel the anticipation, the knowing something special was going to happen. Rightly so - the first way just naturally fit into our birthday tradition.  A Birthday cake for the King - with a twist - for breakfast!  

Christmas day in our home is very, very relaxed. 

We visit with family on Christmas Eve, but on Christmas day, we are just together as a family, enjoying each others company, getting little ones back in their familiar routine, after sugar spikes and a few very busy days. But I often felt we are so relaxed and relieved after all the Christmas celebration, we missed out on sharing the true meaning of Christmas.  A birthday breakfast feast would be the perfect way to create a special atmosphere, honoring the King of kings and spark conversations with the children around the true meaning of Christmas!

Heidi-Mari and I immediately started to plan our special Birthday Breakfast Feast for the King of Kings.  The whole festive season we wanted to bake a Panettone, an Italian Christmas cake and a favourite of Christo. We already had the ingredients, but just couldn’t find the time to bake it.  So we decided on a Panettone for the birthday cake.  

The breakfast feast, with the birthday cake would be completed with a very special Mango and Pineapple smoothy, 

wheat free muesli, with organic Bulgarian yoghurt, flavoured with fresh fruit and honey, french toast, espresso and forest berry tea.

Heidi-Mari made a new overlay for our table cloth, and I had the most beautiful flowers, Christo treated me with at the Cape Flower Market a few days before Christmas.  

The cake, colourful decorated with cream cheese frosting and fresh berries, and our self painted nativity scene would be the center piece on the table.

We laid the table with our best cutlery, after our guests left on Christmas Eve and went to bed exhausted, but with great anticipation!

On Christmas morning little children woke us up in great excitement, it was time to open the presents. They enjoyed every moment of it and while they played with their new cars, Heidi-Mari, CJ and I did the final preparations for our breakfast feast!

  

What a blessed morning we had around the breakfast birthday feast! The birthday cake and nativity scene wasn’t only the center piece of the table, it was the center of conversation.  Never before did we experience a Christmas morning so filled with the grace and love of God, sharing the true meaning of Christmas on a level each one of our family could relate to and understood.

The rest of the day was filled with peace and relaxed conversations.  

This is only the beginning of a tradition of a breakfast birthday feast on Christmas Morning!  I can’t wait to see what the Lord is going to add to this, over the following years, as we seek to bring Him honor on Christmas Day!

I would like to share with you our special birthday cake recipe and enter it in Heidi-Mari’s Fortnightly Baking Fun Challenge.  

The theme for this fortnight was Colour and our special birthday cake not only looked colourful, but also filled our day with special God honoring colour!

Panettone is a traditional Italian bread usually served at Christmas time.  It gets much of its flavor from butter.  It also get flavor from the candied fruits it contains.

Makes 1 Panettone

Ingredients:

2 ⅓ cups all purpose flour or 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons spelt flour

¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons milk, barely warmed

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 egg

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup cold butter, sliced

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

¼ cup diced dried apricots, steeped in just enough water to cover

¼ cup dark raisins, steeped in just enough water to cover

¼ cup golden raisins, steeped in just enough water to cover

¼ cup diced candied orange peel (see recipe below)

Candying Orange Peel

Lightly candied orange peel makes a delightful and intense flavoring for dessert soufflés, biscotti, panettone, and cakes. 

To make 1 cup: 

• Peel 3 oranges in rough strips.  You’re not zesting the oranges, but taking off the whole peel, including the pith, all the way down to the flesh of the orange.  
• Put the peels in a saucepan with enough water to cover and bring to a boil.  
• Boil for 10 minutes, drain off the water, add fresh water to cover and boil for 10 minutes more.  Drain off the water. 
• Add 1 cup of sugar and 2 cups water to the saucepan.  
• Bring to a slow simmer over low heat and simmer very gently for 40 minutes.  
• If the syrup evaporates too much and you notice that the liquid is very thick and syrupy, add ¼ cup water and continue simmering over very low heat.  
• The peel is done when the white pith is translucent and waxy looking.  If you’re unsure, bite into a piece - it should be sweet and not bitter.
• Let the peel cool in the syrup.  
• Pour peel and syrup into a clean jar, making sure all the peel is covered with syrup.  
• You can use immediately or store for months on a kitchen shelf. (We candied ours last year and stored it in the fridge.)

Method for Panettone:

• Combine the flour, warm milk and sugar in a bowl.  
• Sprinkle the yeast over the mixture and let soften for 3 minutes.
• Add the egg and mix for another 3 minutes.
• Add the salt, mix and cover with an upturned bowl or plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes.
• Add the butter and the orange zest.  
• Knead the dough by hand for about 7 minutes or with a standup mixer fitted with the dough hook on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until all the butter has been absorbed and the dough is smooth and shiny and you can pull it up into a translucent sheet or ‘window’ (the windowpane test).

• Turn the mixer to high speed if needed to get the dough to slap against the sides of the bowl.
• Drain the dried fruits (very important) and mix them and the orange rind into the dough.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap pressed against the surface fo the dough.  
• Let rise at room temperature for about 3 hours, or for about 1 hour and then overnight in the refrigerator (what I did) until it increases in volume about 50 percent.
• Press down the dough, shape it into a ball, and push in any protruding fruit to prevent it from burning.  
• Place the dough in a paper ring so it will hold its shape. You can buy traditional paper holders or improvise one with some brown paper and scotch tape - like I did.

• Cover the dough with plastic wrap touching the surface and let rise for about 2 hours at room temperature, or until doubled in volume.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F or 190 degrees C.
• Bake for about 1 hour, or until golden brown on top and 185 degrees F or 85 degrees C in the center.  
• If the top starts to brown to much before the panettone is done, cover it with aluminum foil. 
• Let cool on racks.

Frosting:

250g cream cheese (plain and smooth)

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for about 10 minutes or until smooth.

Spread the panettone with the frosting.

Decorate with fresh berries.

I would love to hear your fresh, new ways of celebrating the Birthday of Christ the King! Please feel free to share in the comments below.


With much love

Linnie

Then the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings

of great joy which will be to all people.

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior,

Who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be the sign to you:

You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths,

lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host

praising God and saying:

"Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

Luke 2:10-14