Happy Sabbath # 5

My Soul Longs For the Sabbath

I want to rest from being who everyone else knows me to be.

I want to rest from being put together and up to speed
– I want to fall apart and to fall behind.
I want to stop making the same mistakes
– the ones I make when I never stop.
I want to stop hurting people for a time
– and to mourn and to cry.
I want to be suspended between the strong tall towers of obligation
– in a hammock dreaming.

I want to float where I have stumbled,
dance where I am chained,
lose where I have found.

I want to say NO where my dutiful YES has chimed forth!
I want to have six devoted days worthy of a holy seventh!
I want to lay down the burden of my ego in the soft warm cradle of tenderness!
I want to know the truth, and to speak the truth and to let it destroy me!

I want to stop measuring my worthiness and “love-ability”
– and be weak and powerful and naked.
I want to release my strength and kneel down
– still and silent as it crumbles into deep dark soil.
I want to dangle on the branches of my life’s deepest purpose
– and to ripen into richest colour and flavour.

I want to need someone again,
I want to need someone again.

I want to give away what I have kept,
fall down from where I have climbed,
receive the deepest blessing of inheritance
which is mine to share with another
in the wide restful heart of the Sabbath.

And I want to stop wanting.


Christopher Giffen
January 08
From the blog Reclaim the Sabbath

Gives new meaning to Phillipians 4:13

Happy Sabbath # 9

“I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).


Grade 8 Grade 10
Taken at the Gala 2008 by Mr Van Horsten

Happy Sabbath # 7

I got this in an e-mail this week. Thought it is a great thought for the weekend. Happy Sabbath.
........... I Am a "Kept" child of God ...............

You see, there were a few times when I thought I would lose my mind, But GOD kept me sane. (Isa. 26:3)


taken by Claudelle's Photography

There were times when I thought I could go on no longer, but the LORD kept me moving. (Gen 28:15)


At times, I've wanted to lash out at those whom I felt had done me
Wrong, but the LORD kept my mouth shut. (Psa. 13)

Sometimes, I think the money just isn't enough, but GOD has helped me to keep the lights on, the water on, the car paid, the house paid,
Etc.., (Matt. 6:25-34)

When I thought I would fall, HE kept me up. When I thought I was weak, HE kept me strong! (I Pet. 5:7, Matt. 11:28-30)

Got something to add??

Verse: Psalm 91:2

I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him
I lean and rely, and in Him I confidently trust! HE  kept me  safe

Study Experiences

I love the Sabbath. I really appreciated the Sabbath when I was at University. It was the one day of the week I could take a break from studies without feeling guilty.

I studied early hours of the morning - between 2-4pm, this was when it was the most quiet. I ensure that I went to bed early and after studying I would sleep again. I am not sure it was the healthiest thing to do but for my circumstances it worked.

Reading the article below reminded of the different circumstances we as youth face. No matter what we can be assured that we can put our in God.

Lift up your head

Article from Youth Talk posted on the 13 May 2008

Lord who lifts the needy out of the ash heap - Ps 113:7

We used to live in a single bed-room house during my entire schooling years. It always happened that our house was flooded with relatives or guests all the time or whenever there was a crucial exam around. I used to go to friends place sometimes to study but it was tough to do so always.

So, most of the times kitchen offered me solace. Since my mom used to be in the kitchen cooking for guests always, I had to find a place that doesn’t disturb my mom. I found one place indeed. There was a two square feet gap between the rice rack and fridge. I sat there and studied for all my exams. Kitchen used to be hot and the heat of the fridge would be like fuel to the fire.

Nevertheless, at that time, Education was the only weapon I had next to God. I will cry and hang on to him and say, “Lord, make me pass thro this period”. He did too. Today, am a engineering professional with a good take home pay.

Do we need any more explanation for God’s concern for needy people? He literally took me out of the ash heap and has placed me in a high mountain. Praise be to him. Are you needy? Are you in ash heap? Cast your hope in the Lord! He is our provider!

Happy Sabbath #3

Helderberg High School Students: Photography by Mr van Horsten

Did you take a moment to smile today ? Maybe there someone going through hardships and just needed someone to smile at them. A smile is highly infectious! :)

Smiling is infectious, you catch it like the flu.
When someone smiled at me todayI started smiling too.
I passed around the corner,and someone saw my grin.
When he smiled I realized,I'd passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile, then I realized its worth.
A single smile just like mine, could travel round the earth.
So, if you feel a smile begin, don't leave it undetected.
Let's start an epidemic quick, and get the world infected!

Happy Sabbath # 2

Photos taken by Mr van Hortsen at our Gala
Isaiah 41:10

"Teach us to escape the worries of this world, to live and rest in You." ~~Harriet Crosby~~

'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."

Ps 42: 5

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

Happy Sabbath # 1

Claudelles Photography

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

You formed me in my mother’s womb.

I thank you, High God – you’re breathtaking!

Body and soul I am marvelously made!

I worship in adoration – what a creation!

You know me inside and out,

you know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

How I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;

All the stages of my life were spread before you,

The days of my life prepared

Before I’d even lived one.

Psalm 139:14-16