December – Week 1
This is How I Pause: I connect with God when I spend quality time with Him and Others
Anneline de Hout is an author, as well as Administrator and Project Manager of Sela Co-publishing. She and her family currently reside in the Garden Route, South Africa
Her debut book, Vuurwa-Taxi, was published in 2016 and a year later, Chariot-Taxi, which is the English narrative of the same events, was published. Shortly after her first book was published, people began to approach her for help with the publishing process of their testimonies. Over the years, Sela has become a movement with the slogan, “Telling His Stories”, a platform for self-publishing Christian authors. At the end of 2021, Anneline published her second book Vertoonkas/Showcase.
Anneline is currently living out her passion by presenting a variety of workshops or lectures, such as “Journaling – Visual Worship”; “Prayer Journaling”; and “Write and Publish your Story” and thereby, motivating people to document their stories.
The Sela webpage is www.sela-books.co.za – is more than just an online bookstore. In the blog section you will also find author’s interviews, book reviews, and previous Sela newsletters.
THIS IS HOW I PAUSE: I CONNECT WITH GOD WHEN I SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH HIM & OTHERS
In 2007, the Lord prompted me to register the name Sela as a tradename. The word Sela is found 71 times in Psalms and the general understanding of the word is to indicate a pause – a time to reflect. The day I receive notification that the name has been successfully registered a friend jokingly commented, “I have an idea your days of Sela are over.” But how do I Sela or pause?
I am a creative and the process of creating causes me to pause, but I realized over the years that to pause does not come automatically. I must decide to pause. What is a creative? I am not a painter, yet I painted a few pictures in the past and that was a pause for that season. I am not a seamstress, but from time to time I love pausing in front of my machine to create a different garment. Creating cards and gifts out of pictures and paper will be my “silent” pause and sanding down a picture frame my active pause.
Although many can relate to these activities as a possible pause, TIME is the big pause in my life. Matthew 11:28 in The Passion Translation reads: “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life for I am your oasis.” God’s love for us calls us to come to Him to pause in His presence. When we ponder on His love we selah effectively and are refreshed.
Those who have heard the teaching of the five love languages will understand when I say that TIME is my love language. When my loved ones include me in their pause, I feel loved and it refreshes me – I pause completely. After a life changing car accident, a fear of traveling crippled me in the sense that I did not want to travel, specially by car. When my husband announced we would be going for a drive the next day, my whole body would tense with fear. Then, I would sleep the whole way – unconscious and even feel sick on our arrival at the destination. By the grace of God and a long road of laying down this fear-idol, the Lord not only restored me to the point of tolerating road trips, but now I can boldly say that my most precious pause is a road-trip with my family.
It does not matter if we go to a neighboring town for breakfast, a day-trip over the mountains or travel throughout South Africa. I find refreshment in the change of scenery, the music playing softly in the car, the occasional conversation, the time together and the companionship of Holy Spirit.
Twice a week, during the month of July this year, I facilitated the opportunity for people to create vision or prayer boards. While paging through used magazines, my eyes fell on certain phrases and key words, which I cut out and pasted on a board. It was a clear message I felt the Lord communicating to me: plan to pause.
On my visual board I had a picture of a hiking trail into the mountain; a person reading a book; a garden swing; a pen with notebook; and a big “Family time” and a “your time” cut out. The vision board summarizes my various pauses. Some of the quotes I included on the board read:
- Come aside. Sometimes you have to call a halt, isolate yourself, and remember: Your Father sees you — and He sings joy over you!
- I will remind myself that the silence speaks when we make time to come aside and listen.
- Rhythms of rest. The way we find rest is unique to each person.
To pause does not mean to do nothing and each person’s pause looks different. Why don’t you make a visual expression of your pause and put it somewhere where you can see it, to remind yourself to pursue a pause.
Visual Boards are very versatile and have many applications:
- Vision Boards are effective because they are a visual reminder of your intentions and shape your thoughts and actions. Vision boards give you a clear direction for where you want to go in several areas of your life. They allow you to visualize your goals.
- Prayer Boards are a visual representation of your prayers. The pictures can represent the things that weigh on your heart or you can put those dreams only the Lord knows about on paper.
- Story Boards can be starting blocks for documenting your life story. Here you can even use photos to trigger memories and events.
I am constantly reminded that even God paused after the creation week. How much more do we need our weekly pause.
You are welcome to view the abovementioned vision board in the blog section on the sela website www.sela- books.co.za. For Visual Board workshops, contact Sela at info@sela-books.co.za. We have a few authors who can facilitate these workshops.
As many of us are scaling down here at the end of the year, may I encourage you to follow Anneline’s advice and create a visual board for 2023. With Anneline’s contribution, I conclude my Grace Challenge for 2022, praying and trusting that God’s Spirit will prompt you to act on her invitation to create a vision board for 2023 in these last weeks before the new year! Thank you to all who joined me this year. Stay tuned for a new Grace Challenge next year – one I am personally very excited about. And now – let us Sela in His Almighty Presence!
November – Week 3
This is How I Pause: I connect with God when I do Group Crafting
Marcy is 72 years old and a loving servant of Jesus Christ. She has three children, a daughter-in-love and a son-in-love, and is blessed with nine precious grandchildren. She was called to teach for almost 40 years. Since her retirement, she has been actively involved in Kingdom work, serving God wherever He calls her.
THIS IS HOW I PAUSE: I DO GROUP CRAFTING
I am not artistically gifted. I cannot draw or paint. My knitting, crocheting, and quilting attempts are a mess. Yet, God has used group crafting moments in my life to bring me closer to Him through fellowship with his precious daughters. I believe He wants me to understand my sisters more compassionately, give grace over judgment, connect with others, and love more genuinely so that I can know Him more deeply.
I did not realize the power of crafting at first. I work with an organization that brings leadership training to missionaries all over the world. In addition to that training, we also try to reach out to the community and usually have a one-day women’s retreat to speak into the lives of women from the area. When we leave, the missionaries are still there to do the follow-up. Interestingly we found that the main hurdle was not the language, nor was it cultural or economic differences; it was in encouraging these ladies to share their lives so that our team could, in turn, share the love of God with them.
We added craft time to the schedule instead of another talk. We found that the women started to share their struggles, questions, heartbreak, and fears more easily around a table while choosing colours of material or ribbon, deciding on a Bible verse, glueing beads, lace, or sequins and encouraging each other’s work. As they began to share, they also started to connect. They realized how much they had in common, but more importantly, they learned how faithful and loving God is and will continue to be in their lives. Crafting unites people not only to each other but also to the character of God. This happens not in the final outcome of the craft but in the creating, sharing, and bonding during the process. I could witness the Holy Spirit working right in front of me. Hearts were softened toward God, minds were opened to learn about a loving Heavenly Father, and the power of the Spirit was felt within them.
Statistics show that there are many benefits of doing a craft. It is a stress reliever and a confidence booster; it increases empathy and enhances brain productivity. However, the most beneficial advantage of doing a group craft is the fellowship with each other and the ultimate fellowship with the Father. Shared love, compassion, and prayers bring the character of God into a greater reality.
One such retreat happened in Zambia. I started to bond specifically with one woman. The craft was a banner in which we also chose a Bible verse to add. We decorated and coloured our verses – adding lace ribbon and beads to complete the craft. We laughed, questioned our decisions, encouraged each other, and praised our final work. She seemed to have it all together, but during prayer time after the craft, she shared with me her health fears because she was pregnant, her stress over her family and financial situation, her waning faith in a God who could allow all this to happen. As we prayed together, she started to reconnect and put her trust in a faithful Father who would love her, protect her, and provide for her. I visited two years later and held a happy and healthy baby girl in my arms. I could see how this sister and friend was overflowing with gratitude towards God for all He has done and how it ignited her passion to share about his faithfulness to others. Today she is working with young, vulnerable girls and sharing God’s love with them. Even 8,000 miles away (12,874 km), I still get prayer requests, pictures, and words of encouragement from her.
Our first time together, pausing and breathing over a banner we made to remind our families of God’s love for us, has birthed so much more. That banner with the Bible verse, lace, beads, and colourful design will long be gone, but our sisterhood in Christ is as everlasting as our God.
Philippians 2:2
And make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Romans 15: 5-6
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 3:8
Finally, all of you, be like like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
November – Week 1
This is How I Pause: I connect with God when I crochet
Toni and Al have been married for 41 years, and together they have three grown daughters. Toni loves that they all live close by so that she can spend much time with them and especially her four precious grandchildren. Toni loves reading and studying God’s Word and is active in a Women’s Bible study and Women’s Ministry at her church in Florida, USA. Apart from crocheting, she also enjoys jewellery making.
THIS IS HOW I PAUSE: I CONNECT WITH GOD WHEN I CROCHET
I am a crocheter. I am not sure if that is a word, but I guess a better way to say it is, “I crochet”.
I grew up in Northern Illinois in a suburb of Chicago, where winters seem to last forever. As a child, my mother knitted the most beautiful things you could imagine. She made sweaters, coats, hats, and mittens – anything that could be knitted, she would make for my sister and me. She even made the buttons and knit sequins into sweaters that would sparkle and make the most basic design look incredible. She used the most beautiful yarns: angora, mohair, soft, fluffy yarns of all kinds.
She tried so hard to teach me to knit. I tried starting with just a simple square, but before I knew it, I had dropped stitches. She would come to the rescue and weave those lost stitches back in and make the square a square again. So many things I tried to make were supposed to be square but became triangles. Try as I might, I could never get the hang of knitting beyond making a square potholder.
Fast forward to many years later, when my mom was trying new techniques and edgings, she started crocheting. It took only one needle and went so much faster than knitting, and I decided this was definitely for me. So began my love of crochet.
Over the years, I have crocheted everything from blankets to jewellery. When I became a Christian, I wanted the work of my hands to glorify God. One of the projects the Holy Spirit led me to was making prayer shawls. It brought me to Scripture and time spent praying for the persons who would receive the shawls. It also brought me to a group of individuals in my church who wanted to join me in making these for people in need. I think of each prayer shawl as a hug from God. “He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings, you will find refuge.” (Psalm 91:4) The shawls can cover others in many ways:
A shawl for prayer.
- “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed, the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16
- “Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
A shawl for worship.
- “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24
A shawl to comfort.
- “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
A shawl to encourage.
- “Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11
The card that is given with the prayer shawl says:
This prayer shawl was crocheted with many prayers woven into the stitches and is intended to be a reminder of God’s ever-present love, which is as near to you as your own body is to your spirit.
Wear it in times of private prayer. Let it rest on your shoulders as you work or play or read or rest. Wear it to worship. Wear it whenever you are drawn to prayer or have no interest in prayer but would like to be reminded of God’s loving presence and care.
May you grow in your awareness of God’s blessing resting upon you in all places and at all times, enabling you to be God’s person in the world.
May this shawl be for you a sign of God’s loving, healing presence. May it warm you when you are weary; may it surround you with encouragement when you are discouraged. May it assure you of His care and comfort when your loved ones and you are in pain. May it remind you that God loves you so very, very much. And that the prayers of others surround you.
You may want to use all or part of it.
I also include laundry instructions that are usually given on the yarn package you use. And guess what? The pattern I will be sharing with you is a triangle, and it is supposed to be a triangle. Praise God!!!!!
October – Week 3
This is How I Pause: I connect with God when I connect with People
Joy Jacobs* has been a teacher for close to 30 years. Her teaching experience was gained in South Africa and Botswana. Her understanding of “pausing” was a quiet, uninterrupted place away from people, a tranquil place somewhere in nature. She has walked 16 years with the Lord and testifies to his faithfulness, goodness and mercy. God has laid older folk on her heart in the last couple of years, often forgotten, sometimes misunderstood, and mostly lonely and alone. Today, Joy shares how connecting, sharing, and being of service is therapeutic and God-inspired.
THIS IS HOW I PAUSE: I CONNECT WITH PEOPLE
This Scripture reminds us of who God is: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27)
What could Heathrow Airport and a little private school in a neighbouring country have in common? People, people and more people; coming and going! Our “landing pad” didn’t have a plane taking off every 30 seconds but was known for the pitter-patter of hundreds of school shoes every day. The “landing pad” was my office, or so it felt. I was Principal, and this was no place for autopilot; this was a hands-on position. The position was administrative, filled with meetings and more meetings involving all the stakeholders. And here was my world, children visiting from early morning with stories, sharing anxieties, with educators sharing their concerns, determined to find that special key to unlock learning challenges, cleaners who proudly served the school and then there was me. Feelings that this was too hard for me to handle threatened to surface daily in the early days of finding my feet in the new office. Here I was buried under mountains of paperwork, computer work, minutes of meetings, appraisals, pending memberships, Immigration and Labour officials, and they said this was an administrative position. And they say you close your door and say sorry I’m unavailable … who are they who know it all?
Obviously, they had never experienced the rich life of an ordinary day at a school. A day of constant knocking, face round the door and just a quick word. And so, in the busy days that started long before the start of the school day siren would be rung and would end hours after the school had been locked; I would sit wondering what happened to my day? I had so little to show for my “busy day”? I would sit there and look at all the work that greeted me at the start of the day, somehow still there waiting for me at night. And yet somehow, during this day, I added more to-dos. Tomorrow’s list would start with most of yesterday’s list plus all the new additions, and so the cycle continued.
This was a runaway situation, and this “busyness” of seeing people from 7 am to 5 pm and then trying to wade through the work was becoming overwhelming. My job description wasn’t what they said it would be! It became apparent that the day was about “interruption” upon “interruption.” I would not have made it had it not been for God, who showed me that my day, call it interruptions if you want, was the biggest blessing in this sea of admin! How can I say that? Every “walk-in”, every “interruption” was a new chance given to me by God. Every “interruption” was meant for my good! How so? I got to stand up, breathe deeply, take a few steps, shake a hand, look someone in the eye, ask how they were and hear their response, every “can I just ask one thing” or “can I have one minute of your time,” “can I read to you,” “can I show my medal to you,” “can I show my pen licence to you”; whatever it was, it blessed me. God showed me the beauty of PAUSE when I was thinking I was at my busiest with deadlines looming.
I got the opportunity to be present in someone’s moment, hear what was said and sometimes what was not said. I got to stretch my body; I got to offer them something to drink and remember that I could also use a teatime drink. I could share my testimony, I could pray with people, I could laugh, share in their excitement and cry with them. Were these visits interruptions? NO NEVER! God showed up with young and old and showed me to pause, breathe and see his people.
Did the work get done? Yes, but the pause became my job description. How I marvel at our God who changed my thinking from ‘I’m overwhelmed, and I won’t manage this pace’ to doing exactly what I knew He wanted me to do — connect and love his people! His people were the Little Pre-schoolers, Primary school children, parents, teachers, support staff, visitors, and government officials. I got to:
- pause and playin the sandpit
- pause and listento a child read their first word
- pause and watcha child put their face in the water for the first time (swimming)
- pause and igniteclassroom goals for the year
- pause and walka child back to their classroom
- pause and sharein dreams
- pause and reflect on positive comments
- pause and evaluate the much-needed critique.
God was rescuing me from the four walls, and I got to pause and shake a hand, applaud, laugh, take a photo, and point out the kingfisher in the tree. I visited with parents from different religions and heard their fears and dreams for their children’s future.
Pause meant I got to care and be cared for; I got to pray and be prayed for. Pause meant I got to love, connect, rebuild, refocus, and this autopilot was no longer on a collision course. Thus, Pause in Him and Rest in Him have taken on new meaning; I learned to love this full calendar of gathering people and their stories, handing out stars, encouraging people, sharing and experiencing God’s nearness and His faithfulness always at work.
Dear reader, are you on autopilot? Do you want to STOP? REST? PAUSE? Don’t eject, but draw near to God as He draws nearer to you. Allow Him to pause you – his way. He knows you and what you need, so won’t you PAUSE with Him?
My story does not end there. Oh no, God was not done with me and looking back, I had some more fine-tuning to learn when practising the PAUSE. My retired mother had been living with me, and suddenly in January 2019, as the school year leapt out of the starting blocks with full force, my mother made an astonishing announcement – she insisted that she wanted to spend 2 hours every weekday with me. NO, these daily 2 hours were not transferrable to weekends. This does not sound unreasonable, but for 2 hours a day where I could not glance at the laptop, read or answer any one of the hundreds of WhatsApp messages from all the school groups.
Quite frankly, I was overwhelmed by her demand and thought it unreasonable! She knew the hours, my pressure, and that I was working seven days a week, yet she wanted more from me. My school day was 5 am to 10 pm, with many more work hours. For about a week, this war raged in our home. What she wanted, I was unable to give. Right? Or was I unwilling?
The locals called my mother Mommy Darling, and when Mommy Darling wanted something, Mommy Darling usually got her way. I felt like a failure, and I was upset that she did not understand my position and remained steadfast in her demand. And then it happened! She woke me up one morning at 3 am with coffee, sat on my bed, and chatted. The coffee was good, and the chat was lovely, but I was sure that when she said she heard that I was awake, I assured her of the opposite.
This happened for four days in a row. No laptop. No WhatsApp messages. Just the two of us, drinking coffee and chatting on my bed. I knew she had won! Clever Mommy Darling – she got in one hour a day with me before my day started. She had demanded 2 hours, right? So, my mother, a 5 o’clock dinner kind of a person, adjusted her dinner time to fit in with my 10 pm dinner time. This sacrifice from her was immense. I could no longer eat and read emails or WhatsApp messages, and I no longer wanted to. We were enjoying dinner together. She wanted this pause time with all her heart! We were both loving it, and before long, she was no longer keeping a record of the minutes, but we made the minutes count. I adjusted my schedule, came home earlier, had dinner earlier, visited, and THEN I would work—precious time given to me.
This pause time strengthened our relationship. We shared Scripture, prayed, planned many tomorrows, and had big dreams. Looking back now, I wish it could have lasted forever! It lasted six months, and then Mommy Darling was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and passed away 40 days later; she finally paused this earth, breathed out this earth and breathed in her heavenly home. She knew we needed to pause. What great joy to know that I eventually laid self down; and paused with her in the final chapter of her earthly story. She was there when I breathed my first breath, and I was there when she breathed her last breath. How good is God?
This PAUSE cycle has a button, and I was the operator. God gave me multiple breathing spaces in a busy day. Our God is good. Give your work to Him, hand your load to Him, see Him break through your way of doing and thinking, find your rest in Him, breathe and pause and enjoy His many gifts; mine happened to be people and interruptions.
Jeremiah 32:27
This Scripture reminds us of who God is: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” What is too hard for you? So, let us always remember, but especially here at the year-end rush, to take time to pause and pray for one another.
*Joy Jacobs is a pseudonym.
October – Week 1
This is How I Pause: I Connect with God when I write Music
Lorenzo has seen himself as a musician for more than a third of his life; having self-studied piano, taking percussion lessons and picking up the guitar. Every season of his life is characterized by a song, an album, a verse or a chorus. He listens to a wide variety of music ranging from Jazz to metal and from classical to CCM (contemporary Christian music). Music has opened incredible doors for Lorenzo to explore, namely, a couple gigs at smaller club and pub-like venues, all the way to Grand West Arena (TWICE!)- but his favourite place to share in music has always been in front of a congregation on a Sunday morning. For the last 9 years Lorenzo has been a musician, and at least 8 of those have been in front of a congregation leading worship. Today he shares with us how he connects with God through music.
THIS IS HOW I PAUSE – I CONNECT WITH GOD WHEN I WRITE MUSIC
I’ve never really considered myself a Christian-musician; I’ve always seen myself swinging from either a Christian that happened to play music, to a musician that happened to be madly in love with Jesus. I think we all do that sometimes – separate our earthly roles and responsibilities from our faith …
I’ve spent many hours being the latter – specifically when I was in high school. I’ve found myself racing from venue to venue, to either play a show by myself or to play with or for a band as a guitarist or a drummer – and these would often be frantic and manic times in my life. As a serial-procrastinator, I’d find that I would leave rehearsal, head to the venue, get dressed, warm up, get on stage, sound-check, play the gig, get off stage, pack up and head home as quickly as I could to either rehearse, study or sleep … The very next day, I would head to school wishing the time away so that I could repeat it all … (needless to say, academics was not where I achieved.)
When I was in matric, I experienced two major crises, namely the deaths of my best-friend and my dad. I took some time off from school and I spent that time trying to process it all … I spent hours crying all over my acoustic guitar as I felt my sense of security vanish. Although my dad and I didn’t have a great relationship, I found myself mourning all the possible moments of reconciliation that we could have had. Ironically, the two parts of my life that my dad supported the least became the foundation for the rest of my life; God and music became the main pillars upon which I built my identity.
Toward the end of matric, I felt called to go into the ministry – and at that time, I felt specifically called to become a fully ordained minister in the Methodist church. That year I applied to Stellenbosch and found myself studying my undergrad in theology, all the while, carrying a pocket full of songs. As I was trialled and tested, and my faith and theology were proofed through those three years, I found myself becoming more confident in asking a variety of deep questions, and one question stuck – If I can’t feel God right now, does that mean that God isn’t here?
The answer to that was a gentle no. God was always around me and with me, and in the seasons where I couldn’t feel God through quiet time and bible study; I learned to find God in listening to and writing music. My moments with my guitar began to substitute for prayer when the words wouldn’t come out. Suddenly I found myself writing chord progressions as questions, and I’d often leave them open-ended; like a prayer that was waiting to be answered. Then I would go walking or skating, with my earphones in my ears, and I would hit shuffle on a playlist and God used other people’s songs to respond. This became our way of speaking to one another, and before long, I learned that I don’t even need to write songs specifically about God, but rather, like a child sharing their thoughts out loud, I could tell God and anyone else that might hear my songs, what I was thinking and feeling, and God would simply give me a knowing glance and reply softly and sweetly through analogies that rode in on melodies.
Over-time I learnt to get back into the habit of quiet time and bible study, but writing music has, and probably will always be the way that I pause and connect with God. As Paul instructed the people of Ephesus, I sing and make music from my heart to God – whether my heart is glad, troubled, confused, turbulent, at peace, in love, broken or whole … Every emotion and feeling, I take to God in an honest out-pouring because I trust his careful craftsmanship of my heart, and I believe He invites me to bring it back to Him through song, whenever I think it needs mending.
September – Week 3
This is How I Pause: I Experience God's Rest while Working Outdoors
Christiaan Blignaut is a veterinarian and partner at George Animal Hospital. He is married to Amey, and they have a two-year-old daughter, Alet. In his free time, Christiaan is the chairperson of the Zeal Men’s Movement, a Christian group that focuses on godly identity, adventure and fatherlessness. This week Christiaan shares with us how he pauses.
THIS IS HOW I PAUSE: I EXPERIENCE GOD’S REST WHILE WORKING OUTDOORS
The noise of the wind through the canvas covering the trailer is deafening. The early morning air is cold and dusty on my cheeks. My knuckles are white from clutching the horns of the giant blue wildebeest bull lying in sternal recumbency in front of me. My eyes are firmly fixed on its immobilised muscular form, constantly monitoring the beast’s vital signs. At this moment, with the Landrover rumbling loudly in the background, I feel God’s presence more tangible than I had for days…
Watching the sunrise with a cup of coffee, spending hours alone with God in a quiet room or attending a church service from start to finish without the emergency phone ringing are how most people imagine moments of pause in their lives. While I would love to write about how I, too, found rest in this ideal manner, unfortunately, it is not always the case for me. The reality is that, though I do not recommend the habit, I often find myself hoping for another two or three hours in a day!
Being a partner at a busy mixed species veterinary hospital, having a wife and an energetic two-year-old daughter at home while trying to lead a men’s ministry movement, pausing can often be replaced by fast forwarding. In all honesty, I am writing this while standing outside my little girl’s bedroom door, waiting more than an hour for her to settle down and fall asleep.
Maybe my honesty is not entirely in line with the topic, but I hope my transparency will resonate with others in a similar season. I intentionally call this a season, for I trust God to guide us all to waters of rest where we will spend most of our days. The rat race of this world is not what we were created for, but luckily our Father is relentless and creative in pursuing His children.
I have always felt most alive and comforted by God’s presence while spending time in nature. Being engulfed by the overwhelmingly vast palette of colours, sounds and smells of His masterpiece will always remain the place where the canvas between heaven and earth wears the thinnest. I am reminded of this scripture in Job twelve, from verses seven to ten,
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”
This is how I breathe. This is how I pause. I experience God’s rest while working outdoors. I feel most alive relocating two hundred and sixty-odd kilogram immobilised wildebeest on the back of an open trailer. I experience God’s peace while catching the sunrise over the arid beauty of the Karoo, on my way towards spending a day covered in the dust of a couple of hundred nervous sheep. I hear His soft voice in the rustling of the leaves and the singing birds as I stalk an injured zebra through the dense fynbos. He is there when a proud farmer shows me his lush pastures and makes me smell the fertile red soil, and God comes to rejuvenate my soul as I watch the sunset on a rosy horizon on my way home.
These moments are like cracks in a wall the world built to keep us busy, preoccupied and too tired to meet God. The cracks allow the light to seep through into a lifestyle that can quickly become a dark place. So dark that we cannot see what we are doing and where we are heading with it. Thank God for His light! The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5).
May we all realise that we are the children of a Father that loves us fiercely, that we serve a God of overflowing grace. May we all experience His love, peace and rest, no matter how fast the world around us seems to be moving. He is always present; with us, His yoke is soft, and His burden is light. If you are in a valley, unable to find the hours of solitude you crave, pause and feel the warmth of the light seeping through the cracks. Those moments will energise and inspire you until you reach a summit once more, where you will sit down, relaxing in the complete splendour of His creation.
September – Week 1
This is How I Pause: I Spend Time with God in the Garden
Athane Scholtz is a media and communications specialist and trainer, journalist, writer, and editor. She is passionate about sharing skills that can better connect people to each other, and motivating others to have faith in God’s Plan and the bigger picture of His purpose for all His people. Today she shares with us how she pauses and connects with God.
THIS IS HOW I PAUSE: I SPEND TIME WITH GOD IN THE GARDEN
I get why God chose to walk with Adam in the Garden.
Yes, it was calm, and cool and pretty, but I think it was also because there were so many life lessons to learn in that Garden.
People have all kinds of noble reasons why they do gardening, like working with life-giving soil and marvelling at God’s creation, but my reasons are generally more about self-preservation.
It’s where I can be alone with my thoughts. My teenagers know better than to hang around me in the garden, unless they want to be instructed to start pulling out weeds, so it is my escape plan. I can claim it is ‘work’ as it is part of important house maintenance, but actually for me it is leisure time.
Gardening is where I let my brain run free with unorganised thoughts, dreams, and talks. I make no effort to arrange the themes. I think of the things I wanted to say out loud when I was frustrated, the words I intended to speak when I was rendered speechless, or the phrases I longed to put together when I failed to define a situation accurately. I ponder on house alterations and clothing choices. I meditate on talks I have watched, music I have heard, books I have read. I weigh up options, consider expenses and think about opportunities.
Somewhere in between the messy thoughts, haphazard feelings and gardening activities, God speaks to me.
In my garden I have learnt the importance of care. That even the most hardy, self-sufficient species will reward you with something special when you make an effort to find out what you can do to make it thrive.
I am intrigued by the many ways that weeds and unwanted vegetation are extraordinary survivors growing in the most inhabitable crevices and unfriendly sun-baked clay, while indigenous fynbos that grow wild on the mountain slopes above my house refuse to flourish in the comparably protected environment of my garden down below.
God speaks to me about the potential of seed. Not only that of beautifully pruned and fertilised garden plants but also the seeds of weeds that will grow where others falter.
I have seen deeper meaning in the entanglements of invasive ivy, the importance of finding the root of the evil, and severing the root hairs that will continue feeding off a host plant until it has sucked the life right out of it.
I am not a good grower of edible plants, but the lesson of reaping what you sow has always made an impression on me. The fact that you can’t plant apples and expect pears, and that soil preparation is crucial to the health and nutritional value of the fruit.
God speaks to me about plants that grow irrespective of the circumstances while others only flourish in the place for which they were created.
I think He smiles at my propensity for aggressive pruning and at the satisfaction I derive from thinning out the woody branches of overgrown vegetation. I think He agrees that a decent pruning is worth the endless piles of leafless branches, and He shares in my appreciation of feisty shrubs pushing out crisp green leaves and flower buds in defiance of a severe cut-back.
In my garden God reminds me of his provision. That He dresses the flowers in prettier garments than the wardrobes of royalty. That I am worth much more than the flowers and should have faith that He is my Father and knows what I need. That I must only seek his Kingdom and his righteousness, and that the rest will be given to me anyway.
God likes using garden imagery like that in Matthew 6 to talk to us about his Kingdom and his nature. There are so many principles to explore in the way in which life starts, grows, develops, flourishes, and dies, all of which are depicted one way or another in the Word of God. I challenge you to find those references and to internalise them as part of your connecting with Him.
The next time you are in the garden, be it your own or another’s, be it formal or in nature, pause and open your spiritual senses to what God has to say to you. So, you too can reach the full potential of the seed He has planted in you. Amen.
August – Week 5
This is How I Pause: I connect with God when I go on a Road Trip
Annalie knows she is a daughter of the Most High King, who knows her name and in whose sight she has found grace. She is a mother of two beautiful children who brings her much joy. Her motto is to love people well and experience a little adventure every day.
THIS IS HOW I PAUSE: I CONNECT WITH GOD WHEN I GO ON A ROAD TRIP
A road trip is how I pause and breathe, or perhaps I should say, buckle up, drive and breathe. I have to confess; there is nothing as exhilarating as the long shiny black tar road stretching ahead and inviting me to an adventure while the cold morning air sends wisps of conversation condensation to my travel companions. Truth be told, I look forward to a road trip like I look forward to going to heaven one day! I dream of the things I will see and the food I will eat, but most importantly, of the people I will meet.
Before taking a road trip, I thoroughly search the web to find local hangouts that “outsiders” seldom get to enjoy. Behind these special restaurants with great local dishes are often people with big personalities and interesting stories. I especially search for great viewpoints where I can enjoy perfect sunsets or beaches where glass beads from Spanish shipwrecks can still be found. It is these hidden gems that make a trip memorable. I liken it to scripture hidden in my heart and that God pulls up to remind me of his faithfulness, making it my own personal hidden gem. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). Before we leave, I check the oil, water, tires and wipers (in case of a storm) before fuelling the car. Remember, preparation is key, for we must be ready for every eventuality. As part of my spiritual preparation, I have learned to ask God for a specific scripture or promise for my trip. It serves as a GPS for my encounters and conversations to come.
Finally, we are ready to pack the car. ‘Padkos,’ or food for the road, is a South African tradition I still embrace. Nothing adds excitement and anticipation like packing this food basket with boiled eggs, ‘boerewors’ or farmer’s sausages, cheese and tomato sandwiches, and especially a flask with warm sweet coffee. This basket will be taken out at that perfect spot where we can both enjoy the food and the view. Here we stretch our legs from the long drive while a dusting of salt from the boiled eggs will feed the ants around our feet. Yet we do not linger too long, for the road may be long, and we are anxious to reach our destination – our glimpse of heaven.
Oh, and don’t forget the wine gums! If you did, turn around and fetch them, for no road trip is complete without wine gums to share. Another thing I have learned is never to journey alone. Therefore, I always invite a travel companion or two or three – people who can share the joy when I spot dolphins, who can laugh with me when the ice cream runs down my chin and drips onto my shoes and who can hug me when the splendour of creation brings tears to my eyes. Thus, I have learned that road trips are meant to be shared like God’s love and wine gums.
I seldom take photos of the landscape when I travel as I prefer to capture the moments in my heart and ponder them there… but, I do like to take selfies with friends. I call it Ebenezer photos. 1 Samuel 7:12 says: Thus far the Lord has helped us. Indeed, where would we be without the people that leave their footprints in our hearts? God knows we can’t do life alone; therefore, He sends beautiful people to help us. I am grateful for every person who lovingly invested in my life and has helped me in my journey, thus I am an avid collector of Ebenezer selfies.
My love language is giving gifts. I carry the people I love in my heart as I travel. I am always hunting for unique little trinkets to bring home to say: I have not forgotten you (Isaiah 44:21). We can pause and breathe because God never forgets us — no matter where we find ourselves on our personal journey. I love the quaint little shops, the adventure of a road never travelled and the surprises around every turn on this road. It helps me unwind.
After many aromatic cups of coffee, yummy shared meals and warm hugs from friends in roadside coffee shops, the road trip adventure always leads us back home. Interestingly, the joy and familiarity of home bring a whole new dimension to pausing and breathing! The wagging tails of the welcoming committee conducts a symphony of joy that sounds “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). The comfort of my bed, being able to put my feet up on my couch, friends who pop in unexpectedly to hear about the adventure, and the kind comments of “you look so well-rested” makes me want to start planning my next road trip tomorrow.
Day trips, weekend break-aways and holidays enrich our lives, helping us to pause. Therefore, do no wait any longer, but start preparing for your own road trip!
August – Week 3
This is How I Pause: I connect with God where the Journey is the Destination
Tina Moyer is a friend and colleague born and raised in America before she moved to Tanzania with her husband in 1990. Together with their three children, they served in missions in Tanzania and Zambia for many years. While still on the continent of Africa, God has re-directed Tina’s ministry these days to demolish spiritual strongholds and Set the Captives Free through prayer. Today she shares with us how she presses the pause button and connects with God.
THIS IS HOW I PAUSE: I CONNECT WITH GOD WHERE THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION
Someone has said, ‘the journey is the destination.” Surely this is not true for most. The stress of the long plane flight or car ride, the frustration of missed connections or the 10th person who said, ‘there is no room in the inn’, can hijack an anticipated holiday. But the longer one travels, the more sound this sentiment becomes. When one adds that God joins us on the journey, the trip’s ‘wrong turns’ are recognized as the subtle guidance of the Shepherd’s staff.
Travel has enriched my life in incredible ways. I have wondered at the stark deserts of the Skeleton Coast in Namibia, oohed and ahhed over the rocky shores, and sapphire seas of Italy and Greece, been enraptured by the swordfish served to us in Thailand, thrilled by the giant manta rays in the Indian Ocean, and captivated by a lion pride on the hunt in the Serengeti. Wherever I’ve gone, I’m always mesmerized by the astounding variety of people I observe in airports or on the streets; so many colours, shapes, expressions, dress, and languages. After 33+ years of international travel, I still encounter a new scene, a rare plant, taste new spice or marvel at a strange creature. I am continually awed by God; his mind-boggling creative genius, and love of variety.
Maybe it began in my childhood – this passion for travel. We moved 3 times before I was 13, but it wasn’t always a pleasant experience. So, this desire to see new places, cross borders, converse with people of various cultures, and taste exotic dishes – where did this come from? At 11, I became friends with a Missionary kid from Zaïre (D.R. Congo) who explained the glories of living in Africa; she was counting down the days until she left the United States to return ‘home’. I was quite intrigued – could there really be a world that was better than America? The seed was planted then, I believe, and grew into a delicate vine that entwined so many of my future decisions.
When I met the ‘man of my dreams’, who was also a missionary kid from Tanzania, East Africa, this would-be traveller had a perfect partner to share it with. As we sojourned back and forth from Africa to the States, we planned out our trips with a stop on the way to visit a lovely city, a friend we had met in Africa, or a tourist destination. Despite the Greek taxi driver who conned us, the realization that we couldn’t get foreign currency in Malawi, the trek up and down the sweltering city of Nice for a clean, cheap hotel, or the thief in Zimbabwe who robbed us of our pictures of Victoria Falls, or the days spent in Malaria’s fever in Seychelles, or nearly capsizing in the ocean off Mozambique; the treasures we discovered always outweighed the frustrations. The rewards of adventure, encountering unique cultures, breathtaking places, charming hamlets, and ancient archaeological sites, never failed to thrill us.
Then a tragic event shook our world. In a tiny doctor’s office in Kenya, we learned our expected child would not survive the birth. After this terrible loss, the 5 days travel from the hospital of my shattered dreams to our mission station was a journey of torment and despair. In the following 3 years, I slowly sunk into depression, hating the thought of travelling. I even struggled to leave my lonely rat and bat-infested house in the rural village to greet a neighbour. Then amazingly, God reached into my dark world of anger and self-pity and rekindled this passion for travel.
My husband and I made a decision after that first painful Christmas, separated from the joys of a Christmas with children and family, to take our required month of vacation during December to give our hearts a distraction from the loss of our daughter. We recognized early on that being childless made travel easier. We were free to roam in wild places or far away destinations; sleep in caves, rent a motorcycle, or change plans unexpectedly when we encountered a fascinating place. We met other travellers along the way, often giving a lift to other ‘global nomads.’ Each person was interesting and unique; often open to conversations about God, life and meaning. The joy of these vacations became the year’s focal point, creating a rhythm of researching interesting destinations and planning the route early in the new year. We often lived off the anticipation of travel – eating beans and rice for months – prioritizing the bulk of our small income to pay for the December adventure.
Travelling became such a pause of joy–a way to connect with each other, with God, with the people of the world, that when our children finally came along, we didn’t stop. Our first daughter visited 7 countries before she was a year and now has travelled to 37 countries in the world. Today, all 3 kids take every opportunity to escape the predictability of ordinary life to visit a new destination, they are hooked.
When my husband and I needed desperately to pause from our 21 years of mission work for a sabbatical, it was instinctive to find a new place – where we knew no one – to connect again to God, each other and our kids. The destination was George, South Africa. There, unexpectedly, God brought healing from the wound of the tragic loss of our first child. The voyages (sparked by the loss) that assuaged the grief of 4 years of barrenness was the avenue God used to bring rest from the questions that had haunted my soul for 2 decades. The treasure of travel had come full circle. The years of wandering bred the familiar expectation that ‘chance’ encounters were the guidance of God’s hand towards our soul’s next destination. How natural, then, to accept the invitation of a stranger in the market to visit her lovely home in Leisure Isle, to pick up a book she recommended, to read the answers to the disquieting questions I had about God, life and faith. This information eventually transformed my health, my relationships and my world forever. It all happened in the pause of wandering that God met me most profoundly.
As I write this reflection, I realize that initially, I believed the point of travel was the destination–a chance to take a break and have fun. But now I, too, have discovered the truth of the sentiment that the journey truly is the destination.
August – Week 1
This is How I Pause: I connect with God where Travel meet Adventure
Jacques was born and raised in Standerton, Mpumalanga. Growing up in a farming family, his passions were not farming but storytelling. Because of his mother’s kindergarten, he loved to connect and work with children. Starting in 1994, he joined the VCSV and worked as a youth worker in schools and camps across South Africa. In 1999 he became part of Camp Sonshine, a Christian day camp in the USA. After his last trip there in 2011, he started travelling far and wide, meeting diverse people.
His interest in videography since primary school came to life with his first productions in the early 2000s. In 2012 he became involved with a Christian TV channel called Kruiskyk, where he was responsible for producing nine TV series, of which some are still running. Currently, he is a YouTuber and a media missionary with Ethnos Movement International.
THIS IS HOW I PAUSE: I CONNECT WITH GOD WHERE TRAVEL MEET ADVENTURE
Being creative is one of the most diverse ways to pause and breathe. Yet if you combine it with being outdoors and adventurous, you could find yourself in a place of wonder.
I have loved being in nature and adventurous from a very young age, and lucky for me, Father God did send the right people and opportunities along to help me live it out loud. Not the crazy extreme stuff, just the good stuff like hiking and travelling around the world and connecting with people I met on my journeys.
As I am from two lines of Van der Merwe families, I share a rich heritage of pioneers and adventurers. Father God was always present in my life, but things became much more interesting since I started submitting to and following His will more intentionally.
When I made my first trip around the world in 2009, I did it entirely by myself, to the dread of my amazing mother, who could not phantom her baby boy making his way by plane, train and automobile to more countries than I have ever experienced before. Yet, after travelling alone with Father God for almost two months, I found myself on a beach in New Zealand, at Cathedral cove, with a growing desire inside me. A yearning to share my adventures with people was screaming inside me. To show them the amazingness of Father God in the breath-taking spots that I have visited.
And to be honest, at that stage, I have not even started travelling yet.
On that beach, I would say, is where The Adventures of Jack Hartland was birthed. The desire to share with people who will probably never be able to travel and journey to these spots; the world’s wonders, sights, and sounds.
This passion lay dormant inside my heart until the covid lockdown in 2020; I was forced to stop and re-evaluate my life and my world. There are so many things to consider before you commit yourself to something long term and much more significant than what you ever thought you could accomplish.And before I grasped it, I had breath. I had energy. I had excitement. I had creativity.
After running for so long to build something that drained me more than it brought out the creativity in me, I now had time to stop and think; time to stop and dream again.
In August 2020, the first episode of The Adventures of Jack Hartland shot into the world wide web, and I became – a YouTuber and that at my age! Since then, I have done things I never thought I would ever do. It was organized for me to swim with crocodiles; then I was invited to take to the skies with a microlight aircraft. I climbed a mountain and experienced the freedom of the eagles at the top. I was privileged to learn how to scuba dive, bringing me to one of the most challenging experiences that I never want to experience again – diving without the safety of a cage between real sharks.
In all these challenging moments, I was able to oppose the terrifying fear inside me. I am really stunned that I did it, that I stepped out of what I considered to be ‘normal’ and a comfort zone. In the process I experienced more than I ever dreamt possible.
With this, I feel alive. I am invigorated by the excitement and knowledge that I am making the most of my time, using Father God’s gift to be more than just average.
I am almost at episode 100, my aim before I start marketing my channel to the world.
Thankfully I have made it this far, and as I mentioned, I am pretty sure that I am only getting started.
