It is only a small card, the size of a bank card. On one side is written “Your kids make memories everyday.”

And a very interesting picture also. I like it. A father kneeling, with both of his hands on the floor,  and four kids trying to get on his back. Two are making it alright, but number three has his feet on the ground and number four is on the back of number three. What a picture.

On the reverse side is written: “How they remember you will last their lifetime……” What a message! I picked the card up at the local Women’s Refuge Office.

But parents have also memories of their children when they were small. And those memories will also last a lifetime….

I remember the time spent with them, especially the rides in the car. We did not not only spend nights in motels along the coasts of Northland but also nights in tents.

Matauri Bay was one of our camping grounds.

I remember also the Christian Schools they attended and the Sunday Schools. (We used to be workers with the United Maori Mission from the end of 1980 until the end of 2004 in Kaikohe)

One of these days I will ask them how they remember me.

How do I want to be remembered by them? I want to be remembered by them as the one who helped them to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour!

I don’t really know how to say it.

But sometimes people are very friendly and very kind and really nice.

Sometimes they are not kind at all, they are not really nasty – but almost nasty. You know what I am talking about!

Now, I find it easier to ‘cope’ with the second group of people described. Does it not do somethimng to you, when people are really friendly to you and nice?

I read the following some time ago. (Does it not fit in with what I wrote just now?):

“I will make love my greatest weapon and none on who I call can defend against its force…….My love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest day.” – Og Mandino. How I like that!

Read also what the  Bible, the Word of the Living God says in First Corinthians 13:4-7!!

“It’s amazing who cares.”

“St John

the first to care”

Big posters I saw today in  town. The above was written on them. And here is  more from the posters:  “Join the thousands of New Zealanders who volunteer some of their time to care for others in their community. You’ll be surprised at how many different ways there are to help, the difference you make and amazed at the skills you gain.”

It surely is amazing who cares. Yes, I am amazed!

But I am even more amazed when I read the Bible, the word of the Living God.  In Psalm 139:2 we read: “You know when I sit and when I rise;…” Most of the time I do not care whether I sit or whether I rise. But the creator of the universe cares. I find that really amazing. I find that also very encouraging!

Read the whole of Psalm 139, all 24 verses. The psalms are in the middle of the Bibel and therefore easy to find.

I was really surprised, when I looked at the School Notice board of the Pukenui school, a small town in the Far North of New Zealand, and read:

” THE PUKENUI WAY.”

Underneath is written: “At Pukenui school we expect that everyone will: Be honest, Be kind and caring………….”

When I read the notice I remembered a day in Whangarei quite some time ago. From the street I looked into a book shop and saw the book “My Way” advertised. It was written by the former prime minister of this country Sir Robert Muldoon. At that time it was heavily reduced. Maybe that is the reason why I remember the book sale so well.

I am very much interested in that subject and like to hear what people have to say about that theme.

What does the Bible, the Word of the Living God has to say about this matter?

Proverbs 14:12 comes straight away to my mind from my Bible reading and there it says: ” There is a WAY that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Isaiah 53:6 says at the beginning: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;….” Let us also read what David says in Psalm 25:4: “Show me your way, O Lord, ….” (Psalm 86:11)

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS THE WAY!

John 14:6

“Jesus answered, ‘I am

the way and the

truth and the

life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.'”

“LASS DAS NICHTIGE, TU DAS WICHTIGE!”

Are you on a “sustainable journey” or are you on a journey to a new heaven and earth, the home of righteousness?

Not too long ago I went to the local office here in Kaitaia to pay our rates and picked up some information on our ecological footprint. Two questions are asked: “How big is your ecological footprint?” Question number one. “Do you want to reduce your ecological footprint?” Question number two.

The information mentions also our “sustainable journey.”

To go on our “sustainable journey” we can sign up at the Far North Environmental Centre. There we will get more practical information and help on how to reduce our ecological footprint. Help is available to leave a greener footprint on our planet. The service is FREE and we will also receive a FREE Sustainable Living Activation Pack.

Not a bad journey!

I LEFT MY FOOTPRINTS AT HOUHORA

FAR NORTH, NEW ZEALAND

While working in Kaikohe with the United Maori Mission (UMM) one of my Maori friends raised up a Gospel Band with the name “GET REAL”. So let us get really REAL!

In the BIBLE – the Word of the Lving God – we are reading about the real journey. It is the journey to a new heaven and a new earth. It is the journey to the home of righteousness. We are reading about this journey in Second Peter 3:13. Please read the verse.

In my Bible Second Peter chapter three has the headline “THE DAY OF THE LORD.” Second Peter 3:7 says: “By the same word the present heavens and the earth are reserved for FIRE, beeing kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” Second Peter 3:10 says: “………..” Read also what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ himself says about Heaven and Earth: Matthew 5:18; Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 16:17; Luke 21:33.

The prophet Isaiah has also a lot to say about this theme. Here we are: Isaiah 24:18-20; Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22.

Have you signed up to go on your journey to the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness? Don’t let the time run out! Do it TODAY!