Being Bipolar can be really fun

If you have recently been diagnosed with being Bipolar type 2, don't despair. Once you get over the fact that what you have been experiencing, now has a name to it, even though its sounds scary, its really not that bad. Its from this point onwards you can start moving in a positive direction in your life, and you may even get to the stage where you can look back at yourself and have a jolly good chuckle at the impulsive things you did in your hypomanic stages or on your way to being manic.

Here is a classic example of how I become. My brain doesn't want to switch off and I need to suddenly "DO STUFF". Most of the time its incredible positive and beneficial stuff, other times it lands me in the dog box. One day my husband came home and to his shock and horror, my little trimming and pruning of the garden had turned into a full scale assault. My neighbour had irritated me that his house was so dark because of the pine trees outside our shared fence. So I decided to trim the branches, and while I did so the idea of "lets really give this guy some light", took hold and I removed ALL of the side branches, leaving our two properties so exposed and now letting us see directly into his kitchen. Peek a boo! ( Dog box for me!)
Then I got the urge to paint the house. This is a common and happens quiet a bit and I race around choosing very interesting colours that later perhaps weren't the right shade for the room. The first time that happened, I had forgotten to mention to Rob that I was painting that day and he arrived home to an interesting shade of peach for the dining room. I thought it looked superb. Rob took a deep breath and opened a beer. ( Dog box for me!)
A good one is when I get the gardening overdrive urge, I go full tilt, and garden to my hearts content. I really like gardening, but not as much when I am a bit manic. The down side to gardening is that its REALLY expensive and I like to spend money when I am happy. Manic me =Happy me. Happy me= spend money. Life is always very good when your like this, and the week ends are always go go go. The kids think I am such fun. The other day I bought them body boards, wet suits and we all took to the surf. They spend a lot of time in the water so at least when I had come down to earth it was a good buy after all.

But seriously, if you are bi-polar and want to chat, please message me.I can really be useful in showing you how to manage it with your diet, and other tools, not just meds. It can be very  hard living with this, and often people have no clue as from their perspective you seem pretty normal.                                   

Jordan's first day at BIG school

My little girl is growing up so quickly. I cant believe she actually started "big school" at Sun Valley Primary this week. Jordan was very anxious, as she didnt know anyone in her class, but after a few days she was fine. Its the school routine that had me anxious too, getting up earlier, making school lunches the night before now, making sure we arrive on time, and that all is correctly packed. On day two, Jordan left her lunch box in the kitchen and I had to return to school an hour later feeling a bit embarressed. Now I do checks and double checks with the kids.
I had school sticker tags ordered and so stickers had to be on every little item of hers. Each colouring in pencil, etc had a sticker on it, as the school is very sticky on who's things belong to whom.

I am looking forward to getting her sports programme this week. I loved school sports and Jordan already says she wants to do gymnastics and hockey and netball and ballet and swimming and and and ....slow down big girl, lets stick to two please!

Busy making roti's

Busy making butter roti's. One of my favorite meals, add filling of spicy jalepeno chicken,grilled peppers, cheese and lettuce.
Add a glass of red wine and your good to go!

Yummy pizza

We made pizza tonight, thanks to our brea maker making perfect dough.

A Spider has bitten Adam

Two weeks ago, we saw this on Adams leg. Rob and I thought it was a spider bite. It then turned into a painful boil which took over a week to heal. We now have a spider book and I think it that he was bitten by a sac spider as it says they are responsible for 75% of recorded spider bites in Gauteng. Yes, we live in the Cape, but these spiders are found through out  SA, and the symptoms are exactly as the book says.
I am teaching the kids to not drop their clothes and towels on the floor, especially outside when they go swimming. We have loads of spiders here and I hope that this is the first and last bite.

The Kite Runner

 I had literally five minutes to spare when I dashed into the library. I handed in my due books and grabbed a few books on the library display section, one being THE KITE RUNNER by KHALED HOSSEINI. The only reason I took it, was that I liked the title of the book.

I don't often have the time to sit and read a book, and many of those I do read are just so-so, a nice easy read. Every now and then, I might come across a good read, one that grabs you and you remember the author's name for when you next go back to the library, but its been a very long time since I have read a brilliant book.

The Kite Runner, is such a book. Its a brilliant read. It is written so well and this is what makes the author so good. I have read many "best selling" authors, but few have been written as well as "The Kite Runner".
Its not a "nice" book. You don't put it down feeling all warm and glowing afterwards, like a romantic novel, and besides, this book is far from romantic. I cant say I particularly liked the main character, as he is a weak character, but this is what makes for a great book.

The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship, betrayal, and the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of their lies. Written against a history that has not been told in fiction before, The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed. But with the devastation, Khaled Hosseini also gives us hope: through the novel's faith in the power of reading and storytelling, and in the possibilities he shows for redemption.

Merry Christmas precious ladies

School holidays and Christmas time is a stressful time for me. It mean lots of untidiness  in the house. With a 4 and a 6 yr old, its a constant conveyer belt of clothes, swimming towels and toys everywhere. Even with getting them to help out, its not easy.
We went away last week end and this week we had family here, so for the last few days, I have had a ton of washing to do, not to mention trying to tidy up the garage where tents and camping gear had been ceremoniously dumped.
Today it was vacuuming and moping floors, more clothes washing ( thank heavens for a speed queen), and then the thankless task of folding and packing away. I don't do ironing.We are very fortunate to have a full time maid, or domestic help as its now called as maid is not PC anymore in South Africa, and I appreciate her very much. But its at Christmas time, when she is on leave, that I realise just how hard she works for our family. She is a very quiet lady, and highly efficient and as you can clearly see, I am totally frazzled without here. If it wasn't for my praise and worship cd's that I played over and over again to help me try and not focus totally on the drudgery of house work I would not be sitting here taking a break. I would be sitting under the table with a triple, no make it a quadruple gin and tonic.

So, to all those ladies who are just as frazzled as me, and to those amazing ladies who do this everyday without help, I salute you.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Too busy for God?

If you have time for facebook, then you have time for God! 

I wrote this  blog a month ago and didnt post it and so it has a bit of then and a bit of now in it.

This blog is mainly for myself, but I am sure that almost every Christian can identify with it. We all have busy lives, but I feel that I  am too busy. Even though I do have a "quiet time" in the morning before the household awakes,it had dwindled down to once or twice a week at the most and wasn't very long and often I was  just "too tired" to get up that extra hour earlier.

All we have to do is look around us today to see the evidence of this sad truth. And where has all of our busyness gotten us? For starters, it's made us more tired, stressed out and sick. This is not the way to enjoy life! Plus, our busyness also effects our relationships.

A wise man once said, "If you're too busy to spend time with God, then you're too busy!" If we don't spend regular, quality time with those we love-- including God--our relationships will be shallow, meaningless, and unfulfilling.

I needed to make more time for God.
That night I was mulling  this over, wondering on how, where, to make more room for God, as my day is so full as it is. I really wanted to and it just didn't seem possible. This is  when I clearly heard in my spirit, " If you have time for facebook, then you have time for God".  It stopped my thoughts dead in their tracks! I realized that I fill in a lot of the gaps in the day with a quick facebook post here and a check check on what my friends are doing there.

The truth is that I had my my priories all wrong. I say had, as I am now writing in present tense again, although I am sure that there are many priories that still need adjustment.   I began to formulate a plan on how to put God first in my life and not to schedule him in a time slot. In my busy life, God had moved down the ladder. It was a gradual process, and I cant even say when it started happening.

That night I decided to re-dedicate my mornings back to God. I also need to slow this "time" down, to be able to get back to a place where I can be still and know that He is Lord. A time to listen. In my busy life,  my prayer and worship time had even become busy, and I had forgotten to "stop and smell the roses".
Since I have started re-dedicating a morning time, I have once again been drawn towards contemplative prayer. I know that I desperately need to listen to God, and really just soak in His spirit once more. My prayer life has also opened up and now it seems that my morning time is too short.

I was thinking again ( I do a lot of thinking),  on how I am now going to get up half an hour earlier as I didn't see getting up at 05.30 being very easy.
God has a funny sense of humour. In fact, I find Him very humourous.You see, I have started spinning again at gym, and the only classes I will be able to do are the 06.00am ones, which means I have to get up at 05.25 then, in order to get there on time.
The next challenge is what to do about my quiet time and spinning time on the same day. But I am sure if I leave it to God, he will find a way, and not the other way around, which is what I am apt to do.

As I begin my journey once again into contemplation, I will keep you posted. In today's Christian world, this is not regular practice, but it really is truly vital. Richard Foster writes how its in these small quiet times, totally alone that we truly begin to know who God is. The monks sure got it right all those years ago! I love his book Celebration of discipline and Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home.

Its  almost 10pm and so time to log off and go to bed in order to go "spinning" tomorrow.

How to have meaningful time with God

How to have meaningful time with GodBy Rick Warren Once you’re convinced that a daily quiet time is necessary for spiritual growth, then how do you go about having one? You may be motivated to do it but may not know how. You need to consider four essentials elements of a good quiet time: Start with the proper attitudes. Select a specific time. Choose a special place. Follow a simple plan. START WITH THE PROPER ATTITUDES In God's eyes, why you do something is far more important than what you do. On one occasion God told Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”(1 Samuel 16:7, NIV*) It is quite possible to do the right thing but with the wrong attitude. This was Amaziah's problem, for “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord but not wholeheartedly.”(2 Chronicles 25:2) When you come to meet with God in the quiet time, you should have these proper attitudes: Expectancy - Come before God with anticipation and eagerness. Expect to have a good time of fellowship with Him and receive a blessing from your time together. That was what David expected: "O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You." (Psalm 63:1) Reverence - Don't rush into God's presence, but prepare your heart by being still before Him and letting the quietness clear away the thoughts of the world. Listen to the prophet Habakkuk: "The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him." (Habakkuk 2:20; see also Psalm 89:7) Coming into the presence of the Lord is not like going to a football game or some other form of entertainment. Alertness - Get wide-awake first. Remember that you are meeting with the Creator, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Redeemer of men. Be thoroughly rested and alert. The best preparation for a quiet time in the morning begins the night before. Get to bed early so you will be in good shape to meet God in the morning; He deserves your full attention. Willingness to obey - This attitude is crucial: you don't come to your quiet time to choose what you will do or not do, but with the purpose of doing anything and everything that God wants you to do. Jesus said, "If anyone chooses to do God’s will he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own." (John 7:17) So come to meet the Lord having already chosen to do His will no matter what. SELECT A SPECIFIC TIME The specific time has to do with when you should have your quiet time and how long it should be. The general rule is this: The best time is when you are at your best! Give God the best part of your day - when you are the freshest and most alert. Don't try to serve God with your leftovers (leftover time). Remember, too, that your best time may be different from someone else's. For most of us, however, early in the morning seems to be the best time. It was Jesus' own practice to rise early to pray and meet with the Father: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed." (Mark 1:35) In the Bible many godly men and women rose early to meet with God. Some of these were: Abraham - Genesis 19:27 Moses - Exodus 34:4 Job - Job 1:5 Hannah and Elkanah - 1 Samuel 1:19 Jacob - Genesis 28:18 David - Psalms 5:3, 57:7,8 (See also Psalm 143:8; Isaiah 26:9; Ezekiel 12:8.) Throughout church history many Christians who were used most by God met with Him early in the morning. Hudson Taylor said, "You don't tune up the instruments after the concert is over. That's stupid. It's logical to tune them up before you start." The great revival among British college students in the late 19th century began those historic words: "Remember the Morning Watch!" So we need to tune ourselves up at the start of each day as we remember the Morning Watch. If Jesus is really in first place in our lives, we ought to give Him the first part of our day . We are to seek His Kingdom first (see Matthew 6:33). Doctors tell us that the most important meal of the day is breakfast. It often determines our energy levels, alertness, and even moods for the day. Likewise, we need a "spiritual breakfast" to start our day off right. Finally, in the morning our minds are uncluttered from the day's activities. Our thoughts are fresh, we're rested; tensions have not yet come on us, and it's usually the quietest time. One mother sets her alarm clock for 4 a.m., has her quiet time, goes back to bed, and then rises when everyone else in the household gets up. Her explanation is that with kids around the house all day, early morning is the only time when it is quiet and she can be alone with God. It works for her; you need to select a time that will work for you. You might even consider having two quiet times (morning and night). Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators, used to have code letters for his night quiet time: HWLW. Whenever he was with a group of people at night or home with his wife and the conversation seemed to be ending, he would say, "All right, HWLW." HWLW stood for "His Word the Last Word;" and he practiced that through the years as a way of ending a day with one's thoughts fixed on the Lord (Betty Lee Skinner, Daws, Zondervan, 1974, p. 103). Stephen Olford, a great Christian and minister in New York for many years, said, “I want to hear the voice of God before I hear anyone else’s in the morning, and His is the last voice I want to hear at night.” David and Daniel even met with the Lord three times each day (see Psalm 55:17; Daniel 6:10). Whatever time you set, be consistent in it. Schedule it on your calendar; make an appointment with God as you would with anyone else. Make a date with Jesus! Then look forward to it and don't stand Him up. A stood-up date is not a pleasant experience for us, and Jesus does not like to be stood up either. So make a date with Him and keep it at all costs. The question is often asked, "How much time should I spend with the Lord?" If you've never had a consistent quiet time before, you may want to start with seven minutes (Robert D. Foster, Seven Minutes with God, NavPress, 1997) and let it grow naturally. You should aim to eventually spend not less than 15 minutes a day with the Lord. Out of 168 hours we all have during a given week, 1 hour and 45 minutes seems terribly small when you consider that you were created to have fellowship with God. Here are some additional guidelines: Don't try for a two-hour quiet time at first. You'll only get discouraged. You must grow in this relationship as you do in any other. So begin with a consistent seven minutes and let it grow; it's better to be consistent with a short time than to meet for an hour every other week. Don't watch the clock. Clock-watching can ruin your quiet time faster than almost anything else. Decide what you can do in the Word and prayer during the time you have selected; then do it. Sometimes it will take longer than you have set aside, and sometimes less time. But don't keep looking at your watch. Don't emphasize on quantity, emphasize on quality. There is nothing super spiritual about have a two-hour quiet time. It's what you do during your time - 15 minutes or two hours or anything in between - that's important. Aim for a quality relationship with the Lord. CHOOSE A SPECIAL PLACE The location where you have your quiet time is also important. The Bible indicates that Abraham had a regular place where he met with God (Genesis 19:27). Jesus had a custom of praying in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. "Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and His disciples followed Him." (Luke 22:39, emphasis added) Your place ought to be a secluded place. This is a place where you can be alone, where it's quiet, and where you will not be disturbed or interrupted. In today's noisy Western World, this may take some ingenuity, but it is necessary. It ought to be a place … where you can pray aloud without disturbing others; where you have good lighting for reading (a desk, perhaps); where you are comfortable. (WARNING: Do not have your quiet time in bed. That's too comfortable!) Your place ought to be a special place. Wherever you decide to meet with the Lord, make it a special place for you and Him. As the days go by, that place will come to mean a lot to you because of the wonderful times you have there with Jesus Christ. Your place ought to be a sacred place. This is where you meet with the living God. Where you meet the Lord can be just as holy as the place where Abraham met God. You don't have to be in a church building. People have had their quiet times in their cars parked in a quiet place, in an empty closet at home, in their backyards, and even in a baseball dugout. Each of these places has become sacred to them. FOLLOW A SIMPLE PLAN Someone has said, "If you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it!" To have a meaningful quiet time, you will need a plan or some kind of general outline to follow. The main rule is this: Keep your plan simple. You will need the following three items for your planned quiet times: A Bible - a contemporary translation (not a paraphrase) with good print, preferably without notes. A notebook for writing down what the Lord shows you, and for making a prayer list. A hymnbook - sometimes you may want to sing in your praise time (see Colossians 3:16). Wait on God (Relax). Be still for a minute; don't come running into God's presence and start talking immediately. Follow God's admonition: "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10; see also Isaiah 30:15; 40:31) Be quiet for a short while to put yourself into a reverent mood. Pray briefly(Request). This is not your prayer time, but a short opening prayer to ask God to cleanse your heart and guide you into the time together. Two good passages of Scripture to memorize are: "Search me, OGod, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24; see also 1 John 1:9) “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law [the Word] ." (Psalm 119:18; see also John 16:13) You need to be in tune with the Author before you can understand His Book! Read a section of the Scripture (Read). This is where your conversation with God begins. He speaks to you through His Word, and you speak with Him in prayer. Read your Bible … Slowly. Don’t be in a hurry; don’t try to read too large an amount; don’t race through it. Repeatedly. Read a passage over and over until you start to picture it in your mind. The reason more people don't get more out of their Bible reading is that they do not read the Scriptures repeatedly. Without stopping. Don't stop in the middle of a sentence to go off on a tangent and do a doctrinal study. Just read that section for the pure joy of it, allowing God to speak to you. Remember that your goal here is not to gain information, but to feed on the Word and get to know Christ better. Aloud but quietly . Reading it aloud will improve your concentration, if you have that problem. It will also help you understand what you are reading better because you will be both seeing and hearing what you are reading. Read softly enough, however, so that you won't disturb anyone. Systematically. Read through a book at a time in an orderly method. Do not use the "random dip" method - a passage here, a chapter there, what you like here, an interesting portion there. You'll understand the Bible better if you read it as it was written - a book or letter at a time. To get a sweep of a book. On some occasions you may want to survey a whole book. In that case you will read it quickly to get a sweep of the total revelation. Then you need not read it slowly or repeatedly. Meditate and memorize (Reflect and Remember). In order to have the Scriptures speak to you meaningfully, you should meditate on what you are reading and memorize verses that particularly speak to you. Meditation is "seriously contemplating a thought over and over in your mind." Out of your meditation you might select and memorize a verse that is particularly meaningful to you. Write down what God has shown you (Record). When God speaks to you through His Word, record what you have discovered. Writing it down will enable you both to remember what God revealed to you and to check up on your biblical discoveries. Recording what God has shown you is the way of applying what you see in the Scripture that pertains to your life. Have your time of prayer (Request). After God has spoken to you through His Word, speak to Him in prayer. This is your part of the conversation with the Lord.   CONCLUSION What if you miss a day? Don't worry about it if it only happens occasionally. Don't go on a guilt trip. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1, NIV) Don't get legalistic because missing one day does not make it a flop. BUT don't give up. If you miss a meal, it does not mean that you should give up eating because you're inconsistent. You simply eat a little more at the next meal and go on from there. This same principle is true with your quiet time. Psychologists tell us that it usually takes three weeks to get familiar with some new task or habit; it takes another three weeks before it becomes a habit. The reason why many people are not successful in their quiet times is because they have never made it past that six-week barrier. For your quiet time to become a habit, you must have had one daily for at least six weeks. William James had a famous formula for developing a habit (Selected Papers on Philosophy, E. P. Dutton & Co., 2000, pp. 60-62): Make a strong resolution (vow). You must always start with a strong initiative. If you begin halfheartedly, you'll never make it. Make a public declaration by telling others about your decision. Never allow an exception to occur until the new habit is securely rooted in your life. A habit is like a ball of twine. Every time you drop it, many strands are unwound. So never allow the "just this once" to occur. The act of yielding weakens the will and strengthens the lack of self­-control. Seize every opportunity and inclination to practice your new habit. Whenever you get the slightest urge to practice your new habit, do it right then. Don't wait, but use every opportunity to reinforce your habit. It does not hurt to overdo a new habit when you are first starting. To these suggestions I would add one more: Rely on the power of God. When it is all said and done, you must realize that you are in a spiritual battle, and you can only succeed by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. So pray that God will strengthen you and depend on Him to help you develop this habit for His glory. __________________ If you have been convinced that this is what you need to do, would you pray the following: A PRAYER OF COMMITMENT "Lord I commit myself to spending a definite time with You every day, no matter what the cost. I am depending on Your strength to help me to be consistent." __________________ This article was adapted from Dynamic Bible Study Methods (Chariot Victor Books, 1989) by Rick Warren. ©Copyright 2004. Used by permission. All rights reserved. *All scripture references from the New International Version. You may use this study guide for yourself or share it with friends, but please keep the copyright information within the document, and please don’t sell it.

Ban Father Christmas

I don't often us my blog page as a  moan session, but I do feel like it now.
I am cross that some parents don't want to have Father Christmas part of their little kids lives. Okay, if the words Father Christmas make your hair curl, then lets call him Santa Claus. I grew up with Father Christmas and that is what I will call that jolly fat man!
I am extremely bugged by this. I am a Christian. I am a very firm believer and like to think that I walk what I believe.
Saying that, please don't judge me, as suddenly I am now classed into a different box, and people often then use a different set of standards.  I am far from perfect and never will be! I am  not where I want to be, but then I am far from the person who I used to be!

I am now getting side tracked and better get back to my topic, Ban Father Christmas!
To most of the western world, Christmas is a time when our dysfunctional families all get together, spend a lot of money on relatives we only see a few times of the year, receive gifts we really don't want and and hope we can exchange in the new year and eat and drink far too much. 
For little kids its about imagination. Oh, how I love the imagination of little kids. The stuff they come up with is too precious! Christmas is a build up in our house of about two months. Basically because the shops start putting up the decorations in October already and so the excitement  begins.
Its the excitement, the stories of the North Pole, of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, strange little men dressed in green and red and presents. Lots and lots of presents! Here in sunny South Africa, winter land stories are so thrilling! And so I say, just because you are a serious Christian, WHY TAKE THIS AWAY FROM YOUR LITTLE KIDS? WHY, WHY, WHY?

This imaginary world is only going to last for a few years so let them enjoy it. DAMN IT!!
Your job as a parent is to make Christ real EVERY DAY, not just Christmas! With all the Santa fun, your kids must know about why Christmas is really important. They  must know all the Christian Christmas carols inside out, you should be singing  them to your kids, getting them to love them and make a big deal of it. They must know the real Christmas story. They must play at being  the angels, the shepherds, Mary and Joseph and in my house, we go all out, even the lambs and the cows in the stable. When my kids were tiny, I used to sing them to sleep. My singing is so terrible and I didn't know  any children little songs to sing, except Christmas Carols. Man, my son Adam, who was colicky for over a year, this poor kids heard away in a manger at least a hundred times.

The bottom line is that the true meaning of Christmas is all year around! If your kid believes in flying reindeer's, Santa Claus, and the North Pole, then good for them! My kids are still trying to figure out how Father Christmas gets down some of the chimneys as he is so fat. And mom here, needs A LOT of imagination to explain it to them.