Rise to the Occasion…and 2021

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As we start a new unknown year, we are all overwhelmed with questions and concerns. 2021 seems so uncertain… how do we plan for this year? Last year was a year to reset and refocus… and this year?

Sitting on my Kalahari porch and scrolling through social media , I came upon this writing by Alex Cravens and it touched my heart. It gave me a new perspective. A new excitement. And I have to share it with you!

“Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be.

God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident.

Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God.

Train them up in the authority of His Word.

Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control.

Empower them to know they can change the world.
Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it.

Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan.

He knew Daniel could handle the lions den.

Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime.
Rise up to the challenge.

Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers and Peters!

God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world.

He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth.

Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them. I know it’s hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this.” – Alex Cravens

May we rise up to the occasion! We are all born for a time like this! As our new year begins, take time to reflect on 2020. Don’t let the past year be wasted, instead, let us learn from all we have experienced. Then, commit to live a purposeful life in the year ahead. Don’t live the entire year without purpose, only reacting to what happens from day to day.

“For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭AMP‬‬

God is intentional. God has specific plans and acts accordingly to those plans. If God does not approach life randomly, neither should we. Let us live 2021 with purpose!

I look forward to walking this journey and this year with you. Love from my Kalahari Kitchen, Aldalene

The Best Attitude is Gratitude

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“I knew a woman once

who waited

for the perfect day,

then the ultimate raise,

then the long applause,

then the mountain retreat,

then the magic number,

then the noticed thanks,

then the wanted affirmation

that never came —

and for far too long she had no idea that joy could be found in day just like today with the cotton bedsheets pulled up and made smooth in a messy room,

or even the cold water straight from the earth below her, now there at the edge of the cup tipped at her lips,

or even this regular moment with her heart drumming like a wild anthem within her,

because on any old day, even this one, is never too late,

all she had to do was write down these smallest slivers of grace in her everyday because:

Gratefulness isn’t hard.

Forgetting to be grateful is what makes life hard.“

This beautiful piece is written by one of my favourite bloggers Ann Voskamp. Her writing has impacted by life, especially this year where I had to be reminded to be grateful. Grateful for the small mercies and slivers of grace visible in the bizarre, unpredictable, unknown, uncontrollable life we now call our ‘new normal’.

This week we had Lorene’s ‘ Mother- Daughter’ evening at school. It is a special celebration of womanhood, as our daughters embark on this journey called life. After 18 years under our roof and 12 years at school, they are ready to fly! It is time for us as mothers to let go. That is difficult! All around me I hear mothers voice their concern for what the future holds, the world an uncertain place. Tears stain our faces. The wish is uttered that our daughters will just be happy… But what does that mean?

This year has taught me many things, but one things is to give attention to what I am giving attention to. To daily train myself to be more thankful, even for the mundane, ordinary things we call life. To stand still and enjoy the endless grocery shopping, the cooking and feeding of a house full of teenagers, the house littered with school shoes and golf clubs and rugby balls. A house that is busy and full of organized chaos.

The result of living attentively and gratefully? Being infinitely more joyful!

And that is my prayer for Lorene ( and all other children soon leaving the comfort and security of home and venturing into the big wide world), that as they embark on this wonderful, scary journey called life, they will be attentive and grateful.

Yes, today is the perfect day. The perfect day to start living a meaningful life. For my daughter soon to leave home and for myself.

A life that is meaningful — starts with a heart that is grateful. All great lives start with a habit of gratefulness.– Ann Voskamp