In my experience, the end of the year is mostly marked with stress and fatigue. For scholars and pre-graduates, it is exam and assignment time. For post-graduates, it marks the weariness of the degree. For others, the end of the year is a time of an as yet unattained finish of a long term product. Yet others, like teachers, look forward to a time of quietness during the long December holidays which we traditionally enjoy here in South Africa.

I have been feeling the heat myself. The past few weeks has been particularly trying. But I have the strength to persevere because God grants it to me, and I know that there is a lesson to be learned from every situation, appealing or unappealing. Below are some of the things which have been happening: Read more …

Recently, the "official" student newspaper of the University of Stellenbosch published an edition of the bi-weekly (hotlink to PDF) which boldly depicted two men kissing on the front cover. Read more …

Change is a characteristic of life. When change is good, we delight in it, such as when a child is born or there is an exciting new opportunity in a new city. But change can, of course, also be bad: the loss of a job, a serious illness in the family, a piece of unsettling news... all of these things, and many more, can throw what we perceive as a spanner in the works. It is then time for adjustments to be made, plans to be altered and strategies to be changed. Read more …

As a general rule, I am not very much into World Cup events. I am not big on most sports, and especially not soccer. While I am grateful for many of the benefits which hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup has brought South Africa (such as improved road infrastructure), I do feel that the billions of rands spent on building stadiums could have spent on housing or long-term poverty alleviation. Also, I am not very keen for the "cult of personality" used to create hype for the event, although I understand it is necessary so we can present a happy and enthusiastic face to the world. I am a grinch like that. Read more …

I have signed up to take part in a mission. The church I am at periodically has outreaches to the children in Hermanus, a popular sea-side town here in the Western Cape. Read more …

Recently I changed the way I do my daily prayers for the first time in a very long time. I reached a point where I could not fit everything into my personal Bible study time anymore: it was taking too much time. Of course, I would like to spend a lot of time every day in prayer, but I also have responsibilities which I have a duty towards. Read more …

So I'm off to Equip 2010 in a few minutes. Hoping for some good teaching and fellowship there. If you are interested, Saturday is open day. Check the Facebook page for details. Have a good Passover and Pesach! Read more …

Recently the BBC News website ran a story which made me think a bit about certain secular and church attitudes. The story was published on 28 February and was about protests in the Netherlands to allow homosexuals to partake in Communion. In brief, the story is about a recent upheaval in the Netherlands against the Roman Catholic church's policy of denying practising homosexuals Communion (also known as the Eucharist). I want to get my thoughts about some of the things which I read about in the article out in the open. Read more …