Updated since the launch party!
Last post I shared with you how ten authors of Christian Writers of Southern Africa, (CWOSA), took up my challenge to create a boxed set of 13 devotional books. Here’s some news about our amazing launch!
I now have very exciting news to share! ‘In All Things – 13 devotions from Africa’ reached #1 on Amazon in the New Releases: Spiritual Devotions category. What an exciting moment to see our boxed set boasting its little orange ribbon.
Writing can be like trying to start the car on a cold morning. The engine cranks, but it won’t turn over.
Writing can be like trying to start a car on a cold wintery morning. The engine cranks, but it won’t turn over.
Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels
If you find yourself wasting precious time staring at a blank page, you probably have the cursed writers’ block. Here are some suggestions to get you moving. read more
No one knows that better than Shirley Corder who is mother to three now-grown children, plus their married partners and six grandchildren. She is all an RN who spent many years nursing children of all ages with all sorts of mothers.
In these seven short stories, Shirley shares some life-lessons drawn from her own life as a mother that will draw you closer to God, and to your children.
A Mother's Grace includes 7 reflections to draw you closer to God, based on the personal experiences of this mother and grandmother. Click To Tweet
Chapters include
Click on this link or on the image above to purchase.
A Mother’s Heart is the second in a growing series of 7- day devotional reading books.
Also available
For some reason, I can’t get rid of the gap on the right, but here’s introducing the new baby in the home, seven-week-old Coco. As you can see, he’s totally starving. Three feeds of CHOCOLATE porridge a day . . . he would happily settle for six! Whoever invented a chocolate porridge for a white bird? There’s nothing quite as bedraggled as a washed bird! (For best effects, make sure your sound is on!) read more
He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases. He will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you.
(Psalms 91:3-4 GNB)
Really?
He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases. Really? Read on.... Click To Tweet
As I type these words from South Africa, we are in extremely strict lockdown from the deadly microscopic COVID-19 virus. Our borders are mostly closed. Schools, businesses, shops, factories, are shut down. Only essential services are in operation. People are restricted to their homes except for essential reasons. The army has even been called out to support the police to enforce the ban.
Why? In an attempt to limit the spread of this killer disease and return our lives to some form of normalcy.
Yet God’s Word says You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight.
God's Word says, You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight. Click To Tweet
Really?
COVID-19 is by no way the first plague to ever hit mankind. Over the next weeks, we’re going to explore a few of them. I would really encourage you to respond to these posts in the comment section. Add anything else that you think should be included, so we can encourage others as we struggle through this monstrous storm.
In Genesis chapters 6-9 we read of another world-changing event, one so massive that it destroyed all of mankind.
Nothing microscopic here. We’re talking about the flood God sent upon the world.
Can you imagine the terror growing among the people of Noah’s time as they began to realize that the gigantic monstrosity their strange neighbor had been building for years was actually going to be needed? They had laughed and jeered. Humiliated him and his family. Carried on with their partying and lawlessness.
And then the rains came. And the storm began.
Did the skies turn black? Rumble with a thunder never heard before?
What was the reaction when well-behaved rows of animals lined up in groups, apparently without any type of herding, in order to enter the ark?
At what point did panic set in?
Sadly, it was too late. All but Noah’s family perished in the worst human calamity ever.
As I look at the havoc and devastation caused by out-of-control weather patterns or invisible-to-the-naked eye viruses, I cannot help but wonder. We are so dependent upon God’s laws of nature. We rely on going to bed one night and waking the next morning to a world that’s operating the same way as the night before.
Yet how often do we thank Him for this global routine?
Suddenly, it is no longer operating the same way. We may go to our beds one evening and awaken to a whole new reality as COVID-19 continues to cause disease that thrashes the continents, and governments take drastic steps to try and flatten the curve of the pandemic.
Noah’s ark must have been the most horrific lockdown of all time. Imagine how you would feel if you learned our current lockdown (or whatever your country is observing) would last for over 360 days*?
The only way the people of Noah’s day could experience safety from the dreadful storm which was about to hit their world was to enter the door to the ark. And there was no back way in. There was only one door. All those who entered also stepped out over a year later, to see God’s glorious rainbow. The assurance that He was still with them.
In the same way, for us today, the only salvation we can experience during this horrific pandemic of disease is by entering the door–the only door–God has given to us. The door of Jesus Christ. Only through Him, do we receive a guarantee of eternal life. Unfortunately, some of God’s own people are testing positive with COVID-19. Some will probably pass on. But there’s the beauty. If they have entered into the salvation offered by Jesus, their death will be a move into eternal life in Heaven.
I think there must have been times when Noah and his family wondered if it was really worth it. What a terrible experience it would have been. But God saw them through it. And He’ll see us through it too. If we only take that step and put our trust in Jesus.
How about you? Have you taken that step? Are you secure in your relationship with God? I pray you are.
He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases.
He will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you. You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight. A thousand may fall dead beside you, ten thousand all around you, but you will not be harmed. Whoever goes to the LORD for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty (Psalms 91:3-7 GNB).
Lord Jesus, please help us to appreciate every moment of the lives you have given us. Thank you for Your goodness in providing us with a place of safety, and a Door that will lead us to Heaven. Lord, please help me to take that step through the door, and encourage me to stretch out a hand to those around me to help them on board as well. Oh Lord, we do plead with You to end this pandemic. But Lord, help us to learn lessons from this time. Help the people of this world to listen before it’s too late.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
*https://bibleanswergirl.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/how-long-was-noah-on-the-ark/
*https://creation.com/how-long-was-noah-on-the-ark
As many of you are aware, we have just come to the end of an amazing virtual Africa Book Safari on Facebook.
For many years, my husband, Rob, and I have longed to go on an African Safari with a game drive which takes you off-road to see some of the animals close up in their natural habitat. But they are all SO expensive, and now that we’ve reached retirement we couldn’t see it ever happening.
However, it is 50 years this month since we entered full-time ministry when my husband was ordained as a Presbyterian minister. We wanted to celebrate it in some special way. What better way than to take a game drive into a game reserve? Especially after the recent publication of my book, God in Africa, and the conclusion of the very successful Africa Book Safari. (More about that tomorrow.) read more
Who is Marion Ueckermann?Not only is Marion the author of A Time to Laugh, she is a personal friend, and is quite the most prolific writer I know. I have totally lost track of how many books she has written, or how many stunning book covers she has designed, both for her own books and for other authors.
So why am I writing about her today? Because we have an exciting adventure coming up in a few months, and she is helping me head it up. As writers in Southern Africa, we have a number of problems.
Several of us are banding together in the near future to tell you a bit about ourselves, our writing, and in particular, to promote one book written about Africa. There will also be a number of freebies on offer, so don’t lose out! A Time to Laugh takes place in a beautiful seaside town in Africa, called Ballito Bay. It will not, however, be the one covered in the event, but you’ll hear more about that later . . .
Watch this blog, and sign up for my newsletter for up to date information.
Here is one of Marion’s books which I absolutely love . . .
For thirty years, Brian and Elizabeth Dunham have served on the mission field. Unable to have children of their own, they’ve been a father and mother to countless orphans in six African countries. When an unexpected beach-house inheritance and a lung disease diagnosis coincide, they realize that perhaps God is telling them it’s time to retire.
At sixty, Elizabeth is past child-bearing age. She’d long ago given up wondering whether this would be the month she would conceive. But when her best friend and neighbor jokes that Elizabeth’s sudden fatigue and nausea are symptoms of pregnancy, Elizabeth finds herself walking that familiar and unwanted road again, wondering if God is pulling an Abraham and Sarah on her and Brian.
The mere notion has questions flooding Elizabeth’s mind. If she were miraculously pregnant, would they have the stamina to raise a child in their golden years? Especially with Brian’s health issues. And the child? Would it be healthy, or would it go through life struggling with some kind of disability? What of her own health? Could she survive giving birth?
Will what Brian and Elizabeth have dreamed of their entire married life be an old-age blessing or a curse?
A Time to Laugh is a delightful novella written by Marion Ueckermann.
There are a number of references and similarities to the story of Sarah in the Old Testament, yet this story line is fun while at the same time serious. Brian and Elizabeth Dunham have just returned from the African mission field where they cared for orphan children. They experience more than a little trepidation when Elizabeth develops symptoms indicating pregnancy. She is in her sixties. Is it possible? And if she is, will the baby be normal?
A beautiful story, well thought out. Well done, Marion!
Read more about Marion and her amazing selection of ever-publishing books here.
And don’t forget to sign up for my twice-a-month newsletter including snippets of home fun, writing updates, recommended reading and listening, and occasional freebies. Please note, you can unsubscribe at any time, no questions asked, and your emails are totally safe. I will never share them with anyone else. For information about my privacy practices, please see here.
Only God can save this land - as indeed is true of the world. Request prayer for your country here. Click To Tweet
The national anthem of a country is normally sung in the language used by most of the people of the nation. But we have twelve official languages! So read on . . .
The South African anthem developed along with the history of the nation as follows:
The result is a stirring anthem sung in the five languages of Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans and English.
The national anthem of South Africa is the only neo-modal anthem in the world. And it's a prayer in five languages! Click To Tweet
After you’ve read the words below, listen to the song.
| Language | Lyrics | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| Xhosa | Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo |
God bless Africa Let its (Africa’s) horn be raised |
| Zulu | Yizwa imithandazo yethu, Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo. |
Listen also to our prayers, Lord bless us, we are the family of it (Africa). |
| Sesotho | Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, Setjhaba sa, South Afrika, South Afrika |
Lord bless our nation, Stop wars and sufferings, Save it, save our nation, The nation of South Africa, South Africa. |
| Afrikaans | Uit die blou van onse hemel, Uit die diepte van ons see, Oor ons ewige gebergtes, Waar die kranse antwoord gee, |
From the blue of our skies, From the depth of our sea, Over our everlasting mountains, Where the echoing crags resound. |
| English | Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom In South Africa our land. |
Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom In South Africa our land. |
Click here to listen to this magnificent anthem (less than 2 minutes).
[stextbox id=’info’]Will you offer up a prayer for South Africa right now? Afterwards, please add the name of your country into a comment below and I promise to add your country[/stextbox]
