WHAT IS THAT CONTRAPTION OVER THERE? LOOK. THINK. ASK QUESTIONS.

That contraption?

My first story: My wife and I walked into this embroidery shop and I saw it immediately. No, I must correct myself just in case you misunderstand me. I didn't see it. This contraption shouted at me!

It shouted at me: "Hi Neels, please look at me! I am standing on this top shelf for years and years and years and nobody takes notice of me!"

I felt so sorry for it. I called a shop assistant and pointed it out and asked: "What is that?"

"What?" She asked me dumbfounded.

"That thing over there."

"I've never seen it!" 

I couldn't believe my ears. How long have you been working here? About seven years she replied.

I asked another young lady and she was just as flabbergasted as the first - she did not had the faintest idea because she has never seen it. Another elderly lady shouted out: "It’s a weaving loom!"

My immediate response was: "No, it’s not!" 

It turned out that it was the owner of the shop who mentioned it being a weaving loom and the latter young lady was her daughter - mother bought this shop seven years earlier and never bothered to find out what it is!

 My friend, the contraption was shaking with embarrassment. They took it off the dusty shelf and I started examining it; eventually I took about eight photographs of it and decided to find out what it is.i

I started writing e-letters and whatsapp notes to lady friends and male friends - nobody had any idea. But then some-one offered an explanation: you wind wool around the spool and make a rug. And then another one tried explaining it - you weave wool around it and join the ends.

And so, my quest to identify it took some direction, but not quite satisfactory.

The point of my story is not what that contraption is about; it is about people walking oblivious about their surroundings.  Do you notice things around you?  Good for you. My next question is: do you ask what it is? For instance, a tree? What is a tree? Find out. Google it. Read about the rooting system, read about the leaves. Go for it.

My next story: I walked into this huge reception area of a posh auditor’s firm who pride themselves to be not your ordinary auditors and was stunned by the opulence. The furniture was luxurious. The glass tops on the coffee tables were thick and on the face of it hugely expensive. I was met by the official whom I had the appointment with and we started chatting. I congratulated her working for this well-to-do firm and I pointed out some of the artwork that is so in your face that you can't miss it. Her response? "Sorry, I have never noticed it!" She was working for that firm for more than 9 years. She then told me that she walks there every day and never seen it before.

I recently discovered the late Prof. Mike Rose on my twitter account! He couldn't get enough out of life! He lived it to the fullest extent. Always asking questions always inquisitive about his surrounds and the people around him. And asking himself what he can do about it. And he referred me to an article by a medical doctor advising that you should count and write.  I read his BlogSpot article ON COUNTING AND WRITING and you can find it here by clicking on this link.

They are indeed doing their jobs faithfully and responsibly. But my question is: is there not more to life than just doing your job faithfully and diligently? Does it mean that you are only doing your job to the best of your abilities and that is where your life ends? The answer is of course there is much, much more to life than that. Is your life tiresome and sole destroying? To go thru life not noticing must be dreadful.

You simply have to read it. Start counting and writing!

Cheers for now.

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MY PLUMBER IS A MAN WHO LIVES A LIFE OF GRATITUDE

My plumber Bernard

When I received this photograph my first reaction was: Wow! You are looking so satisfied. And he is satisfied. Life treats him with kindness and mercy. He tells me that every night he has a roof over his head; hot water in the taps; food to eat and so the list can go on and on.

The other day we had a problem with our one specific toilet and I phoned Bernard. Yes, he can come any time I am ready to receive him. And he came. He had to travel from the other side of Johannesburg to my side in Sandton. That means he had to battle the heavy traffic despite covid-19 protocols in place in South Africa – although only on level 1, but nevertheless mid-city traffic is a problem. We battle with the taxis being somewhat of a law unto themselves and road rage and the normal other congestions of city traffic. Collisions. Delivery trucks that overturned or lost its cargo.

When he arrived at my house he got out of his car and he smiled at me and greeted me: “Good morning Uncle Neels, how are you?” Wow! This is a man just emerging from a battlefield! And he smiles. “How is Aunty Annemarié? O I am glad to hear she is also healthy and fine.” And so, the conversation goes on and on – he did not mention a word about the plumbing problem. We were discussing the recent rains and approaching winter. He told me that his one daughter is now living and working in the Lowfeld [Nelspruit town]; he is so happy that she does have a job to do. He longs for her; but she is working and is in a position to fend for herself. Nelspruit is so far from home that she couldn’t just jump in her car [or a taxi] and come home for the weekend. “Isn’t that a blessing, Uncle Neels?”

He lives a life of gratitude.

Bernard in the botanical gardens

After a rather protracted conversation he referred to the toilet. And he took out his tools and started working. Quietly. Calmly. Contently. Satisfied. He has a job to do.

“No thank you, I don’t want something to drink because it is a long way back home.” He gave me his account; and he left still very grateful for having had a job to do.

When I first met him, his hair was still pitch black. Now, it is turning grey and his movements are not as swift as a youngster, but he did a sterling job. We can breathe now!

I salute you, Bernard! I really do! 

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NOSTALGIA: STEAMTRAINS AND CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

 

These are my photographs - I grew up with steam-trains.

Taken at Germiston Yard

These are my photographs - I grew up with steam-trains.

Taken at Germiston Yard.

Today I am in a very nostalgic mood! Please join me remembering my [or your] childhood days. I grew up [partially] in Vereeniging, old Transvaal Province [now Gauteng Province], South Africa. My first childhood memories are from a railway camp near the Vereeniging town, called Redan. We were very poor my father could not even pay attention! But, having said that, I do remember the steam-trains because my dad worked on the railways as a train conductor. And I spent many days with him right at the end of the long line on coal trucks [ I think that is what they were called]. I try to remember because me and my family left Vereeniging 1963 about. 

I can smell the steam and smell the root and soot. Hear the coaches on the tracks. When I served the State Attorney, we got a railway concession for holidays and we spent many nights on the "sleep over night trains." Please click on this link to listen to the trains. I bring pay a tribute to the photographers in South Africa who took these footage - I don't have the means to track them and ask permission to publish this - but I pay my respects. It is apparent that these guys must have spent many hours preparing to take these footages not to mention to locate the exact spots to photograph from. It is fascinating to sit in a car with them chasing a loco and to see how the photographer zoomed in on the wheels. Oh!!! those wheels!! Those wheels!! 

You will see that some of the footage were taken by railway machinists themselves; at time they are hanging out of the loco to take footage of the wheels!!! I am listening to the sound of the link that I gave you. There are also footage of the insides of the loco while speeding along the long lonely stretches of the arid Karoo. Look at the black smoke pouring out - the passengers in the coaches had to contend with the soot and grime while eating "padkos." If you don't know what "padkos" means, it means special food-packages that you prepare for the long journey. 

I do hope that you have enjoyed this lot - and if you happen to know the whereabouts of the photographers please forward that information to me to enable to engage with them. 

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HAVE'NT GOT TIME TO ...? COVID-19 LOCKDOWN IS ALSO A GIFT

This is my story for you - in images I saved from the internet.

The gift of light; the gift of having time; the gift of having rehabilitating myself.

Dare I say this to you not knowing your particular circumstances?

I myself have an underlying health condition

My very good friend is really suffering because covid-19 accentuated his prostate problem. 

He is still reading and is intellectually active

and he keeps praying. 

Surrounded by darkness? 

The prophet of old Isaiah reminds us:

"Let him who walks in the dark, 

who has no light,

trust in the name of the Lord

and rely on his God"

[Chapter 50:10]. 

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LOCKDOWN NEVER REALLY WORKED AROUND EASTER

"Why do you look for the living among  the dead? He is not here; he has risen!" Luke 24: 5 - 6.

This is the definitive and everlasting difference between Christianity and any other religion in the entire world. This is the cutting edge - we Christians stand or fall by this. For further reading I recommend  that you read 1 Corinthians chapter 15 - read the entire chapter. If you don't have a Bible, I suggest that now is the best time to get your own copy. You may also download a copy and I recommend the New International Version. 

Please write me an e-letter: neelscoertse@wirelessza.co.za 

 

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Evidence for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth?

 

Jesus Christ in the Temple

Historically we, the Christians, celebrate the infamous judicial killing of Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? This is not a treatise about the truth and authenticity of those events – it is, I submit to you, just a short write up to whet your appetite to read and to do you own research into these historical events and to respond to it.

The society, internationally and locally in South Africa, are corrupt.

There is fierce battle for truth and authenticity.

It is a given in today’s world that Christianity is mistrusted, under suspicion and belittled. Anything remotely connected to Christianity is instantly suspicions and anathema. The sordid sad history of the Church with the crusades are partly to blame, but not entirely. The entire world ethos is antagonistic towards the pure undiluted Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Have you considered the claims of Christianity? Have you considered the evidence for the Cross? I submit to you that it is satisfactory, authentic and reliable.

What authentic and reliable evidence are available about those things that happened 2000 years ago? There is no better evidence available than the Scriptures themselves. And then you have corroborating and contemporary documents as well.

Let us just consider the uniqueness of the Scriptures. We should not only read the New Testament in isolation although that will bring us a very long way. I am convinced that an honest open-minded seeker/skeptic should also read the Old Testament [O.T.] – because Christ is foreshadowed there. In other words, He is “hidden” if you will, in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament.

Do we have contemporary and corroborative write-ups about Christ? In other words, do we have ancient documents that refer to Him? Reliable documents? Authentic documents? I submit to you that those documents are there. This write-up of mine is not a treatise about His crucifixion and resurrection, but just to whet your appetite and present a short cogent argument for those claims. I have considered it and have accepted it in my life. He changed my life and He works everyday in my life to change it to His likeness. I suggest to you that you should use this write-up to start your own open-minded investigation.

If you don’t have a Bible, please go out and buy one. The alternative is to download one from the internet and I suggest that you download the New International Version.

A few days after His ascension into heaven on a cloud [there were eye witnesses for that event] His disciples and other people were gathered in a room in Jerusalem and were discussing these things that happened. They were discussing the crucifixion; there were thousands of people in Jerusalem that gathered for the yearly Passover celebrations. The judicial killing of Jesus took place just outside the walls of Jerusalem and were a public spectacle – outside on a hill He hang on a cross flanked by two criminals. People walked past and saw it, and ridiculed Him. Now, a couple of weeks later there was this gathering and Peter got up and he was addressing the people in attendance. He just knew that the death and resurrection of Christ was going to be extremely controversial. I ask you to take your Bible and turn to the Book of Acts the whole of chapter 1 and then concentrate on verses 21 – 26. That is the crux of the claims of Christianity: the death and resurrection of Christ. If you can break that, you break Christianity. You will find the same argument in Corinthians chapter 15. The logic is pure and convincing.

The tools and insights of academic biblical scholarship deepen our engagement with the Scriptures as a living text in a modern world.

The images below will guide you to search the internet for these sources and then you should engage with it. I am not going to do that for you – this is the challenge for you to take and run with it. I am confident that you will do that and that you will not be intellectually and spiritually lazy - this last remark is intended for Christians as well as non-Christians.

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I LIFT UP MY EYES TO THE MOUNTAINS = THE SACRED WRITINGS

 

THE SACRED WRITINGS

My wife and I spent about a week in the Drakensberg, Kwa-Zulu Natal during November 2020. The mountains are absolutely magnificent and majestic! There are so many write-ups about mountains in the different languages of the world that I cannot and dare not try to copy or to emulate – I will fall flat on my face before I even start. You can search my blog and have a look at my write-up about Cathedral Peak.

The Christian Scriptures are awash with references to mountains and the interaction we human beings have had in the very distant past. During 1992 a Rabbi instructed me to get a special translation of the Torah; he was so forceful that I immediately went to the Jewish Bookshop and got my copy. It was translated by the gifted Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan who unfortunately and untimely passed away. But his living legacy is alive and well not only in his original LIVING TORAH translation, but also in the translation of the entire Jewish Scriptures. And it is from that, that I take my inspiration for this blog publication.

The LIVING NACH SACRED WRITINGS – a new translation Based on traditional Jewish sources - quotes Psalm 121: 1 – 2 as follows: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where will my help come? My help is from God, Maker of heaven and earth.”

How powerful are these words!

I stagger under the power of these concepts – and you?

Do you have enough faith to go without these powerful concepts? I don’t.

Having been in those towering Drakensberg mountains, it re-enforces the above quote. I believe these and try to live thereby moment by moment. When I look at my onion seeds these words flood my mind. When I look at my giant dahlias a.k.a. dinner plate dahlias, that I propagate in my garden, these words come to mind. Moment by moment I make progress.

I was fortunate to get some unique seeds from the veld in Dullstroom, Mpumalanga and it started sprouting on my side table where I sit and read in my lounge. Just, like that, in the open and even close to soil. My wife shouted at me while I was in my office tending to my legal work and I got such a fright because she never shouts at me. And yet, that day, she shouted. I jumped up and ran towards the lounge and she just pointed her finger at the seeds in the open plastic bag and said to me: “Look!” Yes, there they were sprouting on my little side table. Now you wonder what kind of seeds are those? Seeds from veldplants. Brunsvigia radulosa – also known as tumble weed or the candelabra flower.

Brunsvigia radulosa seedlings in my kitchen

Look at my photos of the plants in the veld and the seeds in my container in my kitchen.

I was struck by the thought that plants grow specifically to multiply! My gardener from Malawi planted five seeds from the Malawian pumpkin; I harvested hundreds of seed from just one pumpkin. Have you ever seen onion seeds? Tiny little things, but brim-full of life. Carrot seeds? Have a look.  Look at a corn cob – and think of an agriculture land full of corn. Millions of seeds that bristle with life. This is what carrot seeds look like. Wow!

Carrot seeds

I took some shop bought pineapples and used those tops to start growing my own pineapples. Our daughter is very keen on growing papaya trees from the seeds she harvests from shop bought papayas; and then she gives it to friends.

Pineapples growing from shop bought fruit

Surrounded by mountains and veggies seeds! These blessings tend to over power me and leave me almost speechless – that is the reason why I am writing this on my blog.

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