From my heart

Gauteng is one of the most populous and industrious provinces in South Africa, and I suppose it also has the highest incidence of industrial water pollution and wastage. It is therefore not surprising that parts of Johannesburg are without water for two (2) weeks or more now. Because of ...? drought, wastage, mismanagement of infrastructure, lack of maintenance, who knows? And the people are struggling! Those with swimming pools and bore-holes can still manage somewhat, but what about those that do not have the resources like swimming pools, boreholes, money to buy water, what are they to do? Steal water from the church? Yes, with all the wastage and pollution it might as well be a Finger-pointing from God!  But really Pastor, turning wine into water? I have no doubt that Jesus performed miracles, and that miracles are still being performed today ... but only to the glory of God.  But to have people arrested because they were making tea with 'holy water...

A couple of weekends ago I spent almost the whole weekend at J akaranda Childrens Home  in Pretoria, South Africa. Friday evening I watched my family members participate at the TTA Development Tournament that was hosted there, and Saturday I cooked about 17kgs of boerewors for boerewors rolls (hot-dogs).  There is a development program for the Children's Home kids called  Defend with Integrity . On Friday evening I watched the kids participate, and on Saturday I saw them outside the hall. Some were participating in the Taekwondo tournament, some were playing rugby in the open area and there was one or two that was hanging around the braai and pancake area. It took a lot of self control not to give in to the emotional manipulation, to dish out boerewors rolls. But it was not easy, these are children, that do not have much. These are children that probably envy those that have a family and a stable house to live in. These are children that are put to...

Well, it looks like someone started noticing the neuro diversity of people on the autism spectrum. And they are providing interesting, gainful employment as well. In the UK ( GCHQ ) for some it may mean government pensions and perks. (I surely would like to work there as a continuation of my previous career) However, being an analyst is not the only job in the market for those with Autism. Look at Specialisterne  from Denmark. They are dedicated to employ people with Autism. They are part of the Specialist People Foundation. Here is a quote from their website The Specialist People Foundation works to enable  one million jobs  for people with autism and similar challenges through social entrepreneurship, corporate sector engagement and a global change in mind-set. We work with stakeholders around the world to bring about our vision of a world where people are given equal opportunities in the labor market The company I work for have at least 4 people...

Being real! I just love this video! It is real on so many levels! The world expects of us as Christians to act like monks and nuns. Cloistered away, no use to the world. But this nun surprised the judges (world)! As Christians we should be the salt of the earth, not hidden away, living among the people, showing them that we are real, that we are not holier-than-thou, that we are still human. However, we have one difference, we know God.

The company I work for has a policy of Stand-Up meetings that every employee has to do once a month. We can talk about anything, a product we are working on, something inspirational, but nothing controversial like politics or religion. The duration of the presentations must be between 5 min and 30 min. I decided to do Autism in the Workplace as I noticed one of our clients exhibiting typical stimming behavior during a dinner we were having. I was pretty scared before the time as I used myself and my son as examples during the presentation. (In a household of four, 3 of us are confirmed Asperger). Al lot of famous people are autistic (Asperger or High Functioning). Some of those that acknowledged it are: Susan Boyle, the guy who created Pokemon, Angelina Joly,  What Is Autism? Autism is a spectrum of neuro-developmental conditions, characterized by difficulties in the development of social relationships and communication skills, in the presence...

67 South Africans killed at T.B. Joshua's building collapse First of all my condolences to all the families that lost family members in the building collapse. But like the rest of the world, I would like to ask what happened there? TB Joshua under pressure over fatal church collapse Just what happened there whilst people were praying? Is there any truth in the claims of a plane crashing into the building? Or is the most likely explanation the collapse of the building due to unauthorized building alterations? Image from http://www.sundayworld.co.za/ So let us look at what happened and what is the impact. On a material level the building collapsed, it is a fact. Apparently it was the multi-story hostel that collapsed. This can be due to structural weakening (plane crash of unauthorized extensions to the building or inferior materials used by the builder) On a spiritual level this is fuzzy/confusing. Why would God allow this? Why ...

Don't you think that pop idols / musicians sometimes think too much of themselves. They start to sing, obtain some kind of following (sometimes thousands of supporters), and then they start to think that they can command and rule. But this stunt of Kanye West wanting everybody to stand before he sings a song is bizarre, he even sent his bodyguards to see why the people in wheelchairs are not standing! Come on, Kanye ,  you are not God,  you can loose your talent! http://www.channel24.co.za/Gossip/News/Kanye-West-tells-fans-in-wheelchairs-to-stand-up-20140915 But South Africa also have its own bevy of divas in the music world. There are those that question certain songs on a CD during a joint project, and those that drop songs from CDs because the inclusion of certain songs are questioned. Then we have a couple that think that they are above the law. Come back to earth, your head is going to explode (maybe it should, then you are normal sized again). But the worst...

Myth: God will not give us more than we can handle... It is on my mind this morning. Something that has been imprinted on our minds ... God will not give us more than we can handle. People say it to one another when others are struggling, when they try to encourage others. But is it really true? Try encouraging the parents of a severely autistic child, or the parents who locked their autistic twins in the basement, or the mom that tried to kill her autistic daughter.  What about the autistic people themselves? Some know that they are hurting, that they are different, that they are being mistreated, but they cannot express themselves, those that do are being ignored.  God will not give us more  than we can handle... Where does that come from? Why are we still spreading this nonsense? 1 Corinthians 10:13  talks about being tempted or tested and with every test God is give a way out. But it does not say the God will n...

This is a date the world will never forget. A remembrance that started on 11 September 2001. I, however, started remembering 9/11 in 1975. The day my mother died. She looked so frail, yet strong in that hospital bed.  I was 12 at the time, and I was crying when I came into the room. She looked at me and said "Don't cry, I am not dead yet". As I stood next to her bed, she comforted me as only a mother could. When it was time to go home, I greeted her and said I will see her the next day. It was the last time that I saw her, she passed away early the next morning. My dad stayed with her, and just before she slipped away early in the morning, she quoted Psalm 23. And then she was gone. She had time to prepare, she knew she was sick for almost 7 months, and she went gracefully, as a mother should. Most of the people in the World Trade Centre did not even have 7 minutes, and the world remembers this day. And I remember this day. 11 September 1975. The d...

I saw the link  Thinking about moving to a nudist colony  on an autism blog and it got me thinking. And  in line with my thought process, thoughts, sub-thoughts, sub-sub-thoughts and related and unrelated thoughts were spawned. My youngest son will not allow himself to be seen without clothes, when my eldest son was young, we struggled to keep his clothes on his body. But since he started puberty he voluntarily wears clothes (well, pants at least).  For him there is nothing wrong about being without clothes, he does not like the feel of the material on his skin - especially certain types of materials (I suppose I am somewhat the same, - I just got shivers and goosebumps thinking about the feel of wool on my skin, and heaven forbid that it gets into my mouth and I bit on it - my compulsion is chewing (somewhat under control)).   And eventually I remembered something I wrote when I was in Mozambique. I pondered the question of being without clothes,...