Winter week

Wow, what a week.

This past week we had our Incredibles Kids Winter Week again. It was very tiring but also VERY rewarding. These kids just warm my heart everytime. It's so cool to work with kids, because they totally trust you. Now this isnt a ticket to tell them anything you like. Just making sure you understand that :).

I took a bit of break from blogging during the last couple of weeks cause I was so busy with all the preparations for winter week that I didnt get time to do much else. Sorry

Well I will take you through the week now. The theme of the week was Take Five. The kids were taught that through Jesus Christ, they are more than conquerers. We took them through the Bible book of Joshua. i.e. how they (the israelites) conquered the Promised Land and how the different stories relate to their lives. The kids had to identify some problems that they face in life, and then they were taught that with God on their side they can overcome these problems.

A really cool thing that happened was that on Wednesday it snowed. Yea you read right. It snowed right here in good ol Jozi. Hasnt done so in 25 years! So obviously we had a ball of a time in the morning, skiing down slopes, building a snowman, throwing snowballs at each other etc. It was SO AMAZING! We are all so greatful to God that He gave us this snow. We never expected it.


Im going on holiday next week for two weeks, but before that, I have to preach on Sunday next week. I still have no clue as to what Im gonna speak about :p. This coming week is also my birthday. I turn 25...a quater of a century old :). Hectic. It feels like Im getting old :).

The pastor and his family are leaving on Tuesday for the coast to go on holiday. He really deserves it. As far as I know the kids pastor is also going on holiday next week. God knows we all need it.

Incredible Kids and Youth only starts again in August (the 17th). Also in August the old youth pastor is coming to visit for a week.

Signing out
Yours in Christ
Jürgen

so so soorry (like my dad would say) :)

I was rapped over the fingers so to say by a certain Ms Volker (http://bex88.blogspot.com) for not publishing a new blog on this blog last week. So so sooorry. :) Actually I did post a new blog, but it was on myspace (http://www.myspace.com/lierj).

So last week was very busy especially doing the SORTd magazine for the church youth group.

Friday at youth went very well. We watched a talk on a DVD on then one guy gave his life to Jesus for the first time. That was AWESOME since we had been praying for him for about a year if I'm correct. Alot of the teens also recommited their lifes, so that was also very cool.

This week we are gonna watch the film Amazing Grace as a youth group together. Please pray that the teens will get the message of the film namely that they can make a difference in the world and that God's grace makes all the difference in this world.

God bless and have a good week.
Jürgen

brrrr

Greetings from a VERY cold Joburg,

When I was watching the weather news this morning, the predictions for the day's high in Joburg were only 12 degrees celcius. I don't know how much that is in fahrenheit. That's not cool. I mean not hot...u know what I mean. So ja, my hands are pretty cold at the moment cause I didn't bring any gloves with, and besides, it isn't very practical to work on the computer with gloves on.

I had a good week last week. It wasn't so hectic untill I found out that I had to do the SORT'd magazine cause Tome couldn't do it. Well I finnally managed to get around to it...but only on Friday morning...and with all the other stuff that had to be done, you can guess what happened. I didn't manage to finish on time. So there was no SORT'd on Friday (sorry Tome). But I did finish it late on Saturday (after the bulls managed to sneak past the sharks and win in extra time...but don't worry boys, I still support them even if they lost. This is what real supporters do you know :)). The theme of SORT'd was "Don't overlook life's small joys while searching for the big ones". I'll speak to Tristan our webmaster to see whether we can make the mag available as a download.


So on Friday we went to Fire&ICE with our youth group. Big up for Dale and the team there. It was a good evening! The guest band called GEAR was also fantastic. Keep it up with the dancing and stuff. Tash, their leader, held the talk.

And another thing that was quite cool this week was when a good friend of mine from varsity came to visit us at church to do some research about Christianity and our church life. Hope I gave enough bro. And I wanna see that project when it's finished :).

And another special thing that happened this week was my sister Ester's birthday. I wish you all God's blessings for the year.

By the way, if you have any questions relating to life or spirituality etc, then drop me a mail at jurgen@wrlc.co.za. All mails are handled as confidential and I will never give out any information about you without your consent.

I want to leave you with the verse from Romans 5:8 :"God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"

Have a fantastic week and please remember to keep praying for the Rädell family. The mom is still in hospital and needs urgent prayer for healing. Also pray for the family that God will show himself towards them in a loving way and that He will comfort them regarding the loss of their daughter and sister.

Jürgen

Sad news

Hi to everyone who is keeping the Rädell family in their thoughts,

I just got the very sad news that Stephanie is no longer with us and has passed into eternity. Please keep the rest of the family in your prayers. The dad, Jochen, is out of hospital, but the mom is still in icu as far as I know. Please continue to pray for her, especially in this time of shock and sadness.

Even in this sadness, I do know that there is hope, because Stephie knew our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. She has been set free from this earthly body which was destroyed in the car accident, and she is now without pain in her Saviours loving arms.

Stephanie will be sorely missed by all who knew her. She was an awesome person who was always so positive and had this huge smile on her face and was always willing to give a hug.
I was reminded now of the song from Tree63 that says that God gives and He takes away, but still blessed is His name. Lets thank God for the impact that Stef had in our lives and that we had the priviledge to have her amongst us. Please continue to pray for the family in this hard time.

It is truly like the Bible says; Life but is but a fleeting shadow, a vapour which is here today and gone tomorrow. So live every day as if it was your last. Make peace with those who you quarrel with because you might not see them tomorrow to sort it out. It is for this reason that it is so important that we invest our time in the right things. In things that have eternal value. Life is short. Make time for your loved ones. This life is a preparation for the life to come.

God's story – His plan for the world, if you will – is continually unfolding. And, everyone – believers and unbelievers alike – have a role to play. Make no mistake about it: You are part of God's story! God has chosen that people be given temporary charge of the planet. Further, Christ-followers are given temporary charge as God's ambassadors – His personal representatives to be His messengers to enlarge His place in the hearts and minds of people. (Stef certainly was a example of Gods love). With these "charges" also come responsibility and accountability. According to the Scriptures, there really will be a judgment day where we will have to give an account for our stewardship.

In a world of 6.4 billion people, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that in God's story, every person matters. You may feel sometimes like just another lemming in the crowd on the way to the end of the cliff! But, I believe that what God said to Jeremiah applies to each person, "before you were born, I knew you; before you were born, I set you apart" (Jeremiah 1:5).

In God's story, you matter! We may not be able to see beyond the current chapter of how our lives play out in His story. But as Christ-followers, I do know this: Our most important tasks involve doing the necessary things that lead to growth in our relationship with Jesus so that we may – in ever-increasing fashion – reflect Jesus in all we do. In this way, we pass-on this unfolding story of what God has done and what He is doing in the world. Then, at the end of our days, we can rest assured that we have kept the plot moving along.

Have a good week
Jürgs

Prayer request

Hi

Please pray for the Reddell family urgently. They were involved in a massive accident. The mom and her daughter, Stefanie, are still in ICU. Stefanie is in a very critical condition. Please intercede on her and her mom's behalf for their recovery. Stefanie is only just 19 years old as far as I know. Please pray that God will restore their bodies. Stefanie had to to be ressuccitated, so her body is in a very bad state. One doctor even said that there was no brain activity anymore, so we need to pray for her urgently.

Please also remember her dad and her brother. Her dad is in a stable condition and her brother was not with them at the time of the accident. He is about 16 years old if I remember correctly. Pray that God will give them strength in this time and that His will is done.
Jürgen

To all the mother's out there

I found a really cool poem about being a mom. (Got it from http://www.homeword.com/). Enjoy

Before I was a Mom?
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.
Before I was a MomI cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on. Spit on. Chewed on. Pottied on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much love or so much pain before I was a Mom.

I never knew I would love being a Mom. — Author unknown.

A new week

Hi all,

Last week week was pretty hectic. It was the week where cd's had to again be made for Incredible Kids (Our children's ministry). When cd's have to be made it is always much more busy for me and the others than usual cause scripts have to be written for the narrators, then the recordings have to be done and then the recordings have to edited. At the moment I am the only one who can edit the recordings. Sometimes one cd takes two or three hours of continuous editing. Other times its a matter of only one hour. Even so it does kind off disrupt the rythm a bit because all the other stuff that has to also be finished for the week also still need to be done. Jochen also left on Friday for the whole day to go on a conference that was leadby Bill Hybels, so I had to also drive all the kids :).

But all turned out well. Even at Incredible Kids we had more than 100 kids again. We also had good fun at youth (13-18yrs). Praise and worship was AWESOME. I really felt God's presence in the place. It ROCKED!!! Thanks be to God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ for this AWESOME time in His presence. We were honoured. Thanks.

The activities of the youth evening were aimed at Mother's day (which is today. Thank you mom! You are the best!). The first activity of the night was a game called "There she is..." In this game the teens had to split up into groups of four or five and then had to answer a couple of questions about being a mom and then a volunteer of the group had to pretend to be a mom and answer the three questions. The most creative and most convincing group got a prize from the tuck shop (I think we are making a loss because we are giving away so many prizes on Friday's :)). But don't worry, it's not about the money. Anyway, the group that won was Kelly's group (I think she's gonna be a good mommy one day). The second thing that we did was to make a mother's day card for our moms. Most teens participated in this activity. Some very good creations came out of this activity. I didn't know we had so many creative ppl at uth. One particular one that I looked at was Graeme's card. He had just a scribble of crayons inside the card and at the bottom it read "A flashback [or something like that] of when I was a kid" (very original. I liked it).

On Wednesday I went to the german school in Joburg to the SCA (Student Christian Association). We talked about the miracles that God has performed in our lives. It was a good session. I pray for you guys (mostly girls, but you know what I mean :)) that you may become a powerful force in the school to turn it around to become a Godly school.

O and I nearly forgot. This week the staff at church got a 'walkie talkie' each to communicate with each otherwhen we are in the church vicinity. It spretty cool. These things can go up to about 10km if they are in a unobstructed line with each other. Jochen worked out that they will save us about R300 a month in cell phone costs (One set costs about R300). So each month we will have paid off one set). They will also be very usefull for the Incredibles Winter Week.

Please pray for Kethotse because he is going through a very tough time. His dad passed away on Saturday in a car accident. Pray for peace, comfort and understanding. Kethotse, remember, we've got your back.

And with these thoughts I go into a new week.
Thanks for all the support and go with the Lord's blessing.
Jürgen

Attitude check

Hi ppl,

this morning while I was helping Isabeau with the Joyland devotion, I was browsing through my new e-mails and found a devotional that I want to share with you. I get a daily devotional from Homeword (http://www.homeword.com/ You can also subscribe to them. This devotional comes from yesterday.

This devotional was written by Jim Burns

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. —James 1:2-4

A confederate soldier in the midst of some very trying circumstances wrote the words below. I don't know who he was or where he learned this incredible principle of life, but I offer it to you today as one of the secrets of a fulfilled life. Personally, I read this poem often and I call it my attitude check.

I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked God for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing I asked for but everything I had hoped for....

Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered. I am among all men most richly blessed.

- Unknown Confederate Soldier

GOING DEEPER:
1. How does James 1:2-4 fit with today's poem?

2. In what areas of your life could you use an attitude check?

FURTHER READING:
Psalm 46:1-5, 10

This makes one think of the things we ask for and how we should be more grateful for the things we get instead of complaining.
Today are Incredible Kids leaders meeting and Youth leadership meeting. If you read this before 2nite, then please pray for us. If not, you can still pray for us in the respective ministries.

Hope you have an awesome week.

Jürgen

Last week end

Im back again,

This past week-end I was on a young adults camp from our church. We went to the South coast to our camping place called Kailager. It's about 3km from Port Edward.

This was a very realxing camp. We chilled alot. The weather was good except for the 1st day cause there was this cold front which made things very cold at nite. Some of our group only arrived at 2am in the morning cause they had trouble with their combi. Better luck next time Tome and Michael. And the ppl in my combi (Jona, karen, lylle, Sonia, ralf, david and ester and of course Damian), you made the trip more than I've had in a while :).

In the morning we had a devotion and discussion and reflection time. Was done well. The theme was "change". The analogy of changing gears in a car was used and related to how we need to change in our lives in order to keep going. Big up for Jochen, Edwin, Isabeau and Yvonne. It was a gr8 camp. And the kitchen team also rocked! Thanks to Chris, Uta, Ralf, Sonia and Jonatan for cooking up a storm!!!

The last day I went snorkeling with three other guys at rocky beach. It was low tide when we went in but we didn't notice that hightide was coming in and by the time we noticed and wanted to get out, it was very dangerous cause the waves were very high where we had gone in and needed to go out. I think we struggled for about 15min or so cause the sea just wouldn't let us go back to the beach. I was the last to get out cause the current to me towards the rocks and dumped me on them. At the time I thought that I was gonna die. It was hectic. I was just concerned that I would wack my head on the rocks, but thanks be to God that that didn't happen. After I haad come out the other guys came and asked if I was OK cause there was alot of blood on my legs. At the time I hadn't noticed any pain cause the adrenaline was pumping. Well the end-result is four stitches on my right knee and alot of scratches an the other. Appart from that I'm Ok. The stitches are coming out on Monday or Tuesday.

So thats about the week-end. This week youth and Incredible kids started again. We had a good time at youth last night. Thanks to everybody who came. You guys rock!!! Hey Tome your manequin game was cool. If anyone wants to see more photo's we will put them up on Sunday onto the website of the church under the youth section. The link to that is http://www.wrlc.co.za/Youth. I will also put up photos of the week-end on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lierj. Click on the photos section under my photo.

All the best for the next week.

Jürgen

The day after

This weekend that has just gone past I was at the Mighty Men's conference in Greytown in Kwa-zulu Natal. A couple of men (17) from our church went down to see Angus Buckham speak. He is a very humble man, yet an incredibly powerful speaker.

It was an amazing experience. There were 7000+ men gathered at the conference everyday. The praise and worship was a awesome experience. I do not not know if any of you have ever heard 7000 guys sing. It's really cool let me tell you.

This morning I woke up feeling quite dizzy. I think I picked up a cold or something at that weekend cause it was very cold in the evenings, especially because our camp site was situated next to a lake. It's a beautifull campsite. I'll see if I can get a photo or two of the camp site from Chris.

This coming weekend I'm off to Natal again to the young adults camp of our congregation. It's at Kailager. We are leaving on Thursday and getting back on Tuesday the 1st of May. Really looking foreward to getting to the coast again. If I could I would live by the coast. I would then become a pro surfer or bodyboarder. I love the adrenaline rush in the waves!

Anyway, have to be off to the youth leaders meeting to prepare for next weeks youth (4th of May). If you read this before then, please remember to pray for us.

Thanks and God bless you and your week

Jürgs

Update 2008/04/19

Hi there again,

uth is starting again on Friday the 4th of May for all of ya who have been asking all the time.

We're planning sum awesum stuff 4 this term, so DoN't MiSs OuT!!! Be there! 2morow I'm leaving 4 the Mighty Men's Conference in Greytown. They are expecting 5000 men there! It's gonna b awesum to experience. 4 those of u who arent going, well what can I say, ur gonna miss out Im telling u. Angus Buckham (the guy who wrote "Faith Like Potatoes) is gonna b the main speaker.

I'll see if I can record sum of the singing and post it either here or on the uth page of our website. I'll keep u posted. Be sure to check it out.

Let me know whether any1 is actually reading this stuff. My official church e-mail is...no i think I'll just give u my unofficial e-mail. It's formica7@gmail.com. I must warn u however that I will make all attempts to stomp out any spam that comes my way. U have been warned. I really don't need any adds about viagra or sex or a new laptop, or a vaction that I can win, or to get paid for my opinion or what ever. I have my means and ways to get rid of u, so don't even try.

Just remember that any information or opinion expressed on this blog are not neccessarily the views or opinions of the West Rand Lutheran Church or any of it's affiliates. They are the views of the author.

So with that out of the way, lets gets started...

Hahaha, just kidding.

Have a gr8 week and be blessed. I'm praying 4 u guys and girls

Jürgen

My life etc

No not something about mary. something about me. ya ya i know its lame. So what about me? Well im blond and have blue eyes blablabla... no actually i hav got brown hair, but the blue eyes remain. Busy in my office at the moment taking a break from work and listening to a cd that a friend of mine gave me to listen to. The bands called Terminal. Pretty good so far. Anyway, my line of work is working with youth/teenagers. I'm the uthpastor of the West Rand Lutheran Church in the westside of the Westrand of good ol Joburg. Was appointed uth pastor this year. It's been interesting so far. Alot of hard work involved (cause its teenagers) :). But I still luv u guys, no stress. Had a bit less work over the easter period cause it was skul holidays, so there was no uth 2 organise the last few fridays. Hang in there guys, it's gonna start up again in 2 weeks time (yea i know its still TWO whole weeks, that's 14 whole days and...no i'm too lazy to work out the hours, minutes and seconds, sorry).

All the meetings etc started again this week. So don't hav much time cause the uthleaders meeting starts in...wait...2 hours aaannd 56 minutes exactly...that is if my pc time is right. We're gonna cook up a storm 4 this term, so get ur umbrellas ready and get ur raincoats out. A safety tip: Don't stand near or under trees around the church building or the surrounding areas cause u might be a victim of the lighting bolts that will....o man, thats lame. I think my brother, mic is influencing me into the wrong line of thinking. and Jona ur also catching onto that bad habbit of his :) if u know what i mean.

Anyway, gotta go and carry on working on the meeting stuff. It sucks doing admin, but sum1's gotta do it :(. No, its not that bad.

So write back or send a pic or whatever u wanna do. Or u can just read my weekly blog.

Poetry of the week: "hmmm, can't seem to find it...hold on...ok here we go...

"He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something."" :) (Author unknown)

Check out the uth page and sum photos of the WRLC uth on http://www.wrlc.co.za/Youth.htm/
So long and God's blessings be with you throughout this week.
Jürgen

On a serious note, my condolences to all the families who lost a loved one in the Virginia tech shooting on the 16th of April 2007. Our thoughts and our prayers are with you. It's really sad to see what this world is getting to. I had to think back to my varsity days and what a tragedy it would have been if something like that had happened at my varsity. 33 lives were tradically lost. Who knows how many were sent prematurely into eternity without knowing God. What a terrible loss and tragedy. My heart aches for everyone one of them. Hence it's so important to not leave bad air between you and your loved ones and to make sure that you know where you are going to spend eternity once this life here on our planet ends. If you are not sure where you're going to once this life is over, then drop me a mail and I WILL get back to you.