What's in a cup?

There was a white dove sitting on the roof of the neighbor's house this afternoon.  I looked at its magnificent plumage.  There wasn't a scratch of grey.  A dove is a sign of peace, and I was delighted for this message today.  And then it flew away, but the moment had not passed in vain.  God told me something today that I don't think I will forget in a long time.  He said, you have always tried to reach deeper into yourself, wanting so desperately to be a deep person.  The image of the roots growing in the ground sprung to mind.  I was reminded of Alison's father's explanation of trees that become stronger than others when they do not get watered but have to find water themselves, deep down in the ground, so their roots do not grow shallow but deep.  I thought this lesson profound at the telling but even more so now.   All your life you have been reaching lower, in the hope of recognition of something inside of you that is great, magi...

My greatest wish at this point in my life is to love the children that I am teaching.   What I mean is that I would like to become a dedicated teacher who wants to not merely teach German, and geography, and biology, but to work harder than I’ve ever worked on anything, so that I can experience the fulfillment that comes from complete devotion to my calling.   I believe God has sent me here, and I have always believed in education.   I fear getting into a rut, where I teach traditionally, without my heart.   I would like to be one of those teachers that inspire their students to learn for the sake of understanding, knowledge and wisdom.   I would like to take it slow rather than have them gulp down what I throw at them.   I know my shortcomings and my weaknesses, and I desperately need God to show me the better way.   I already know that the better way is slow and careful.   It is planned, prepared and inspired.   The way is adventurous and exciting.   It does not exclude spontanei...

My new life in Rustenburg has begun, but not in its routine.  I had no intention of getting up when my alarm went off at 6am.  Instead I relished in the fact that I could still continue sleeping, because as of next week I will have to get up.   I had a list of things to get, and I had no time to waste, because I have seven different classes for which I need to prepare at least the first lesson.  I have attempted preparing for the semester in classes 2 and 3, but the amount of material to get through per class is too much to handle in two days, hence I have reduced it to Lesson 1 for the rest of the classes.  Quite a dramatic change of accomplishments, I'll admit.  Waterfall Mall is large.  I walked from one side to the other passing mostly clothing stores, whilst desperately in need of a place that sells bathroom curtains (zero), welcome mats (tick), curtain holders, pots and other household goods. I spent the other half of my morning (the first half was spent sleeping) in the mall...

Source:  http://www.aesops-fables.org.uk A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree. "That's for me, as I am a Fox," said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree. "Good-day, Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking to-day: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds." The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox. "That will do," said he. "That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice for the future. Do not trust flatterers

Moved to Rustenburg today.  Elated, I now lie in bed, my laptop on me lap (spoken in an Irish accent).  I woke up at 6am, and got up at 6.30am.  I packed everything into the cars - we took three down to Rustenburg.  At 8.30 we left.  It took approximately an hour to get to Rustenburg from Hartbeespoort.  The single mattress on top of the bakkie that Johnson was driving kept flapping up, and I could see in my mind's eye the string snap and the mattress whacking my windscreen and blinding me, so I kept my distance.  The imagination is a powerful thing.  We arrived safely.  Thanks, God.   I had bought a new fridge, a new table to eat at, and my mother had lent me her computer table.  Johnson built the single bed together - I used to sleep in this bed when I was a young child, so it is surreal to sleep in it again at 31.  The fact that it broke apart after mother put the mattress on it makes me visualise a night of blissful sleep suddenly disturbed by a banging crash onto the ground, s...

Last but not least in this three part series about producing charisma and thus making a good speech is the technique called Culturally Loaded Vocabulary (Elgin, 1980. “Being Charismatic”. The Gentle Art of Self Defense .)   When we say words are loaded, we mean they carry a charge – either positive or negative.   To be judged charismatic, “you need to know the culturally loaded vocabulary of the person(s) you are talking to, and whether their values are positive or negative.” (Elgin 1980: 230) Culturally Loaded Vocabulary is different to the Unifying Metaphor in that the metaphor uses imagery.   Being South African, and knowing our past of apartheid, there are certain ethnic terms that I avoid in order not to trigger any negative presuppositions.   It serves no one to use terminology that incites anger.   More challenging, however, is dealing with a group of people I am unfamiliar with.   I do not know what vocabulary will trigger positive and negative presuppositions.   The go...

The Unifying Metaphor: As opposed to a simile which compares two objects using a specific linguistic form, eg. the man was as brave as a lion, a metaphor compares two objects by equating the one with the other, eg. he was a brave lion.   Literally the man was not a lion, but figuratively he was.   This figure of speech is used in literary works of all kinds, including poems and news articles. The Unifying Metaphor aims to unify people.   An example of an American metaphor is the Camel man.   He is healthy, strong and tanned, and he can survive in the wild bushveld with merely a pocketknife and a piece of string.   He drives a 4x4, and he works hard all day.   This is the image of the Camel man – please correct me if I’m wrong.   The logic and truth behind this image may elude us, but what unifies us is what Elgin (1980: p. 227) calls the consensus perception . As a unity, we have reached consensus about the perception of the Camel man.   The theory reminds of the Jung’s colle...

In  The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense , author Suzette Haden Elgin states that charisma is not necessarily something with which you are born but something you can acquire.  Elgin was an applied psycholinguist and an associate professor of linguistics at San Diego State University, and published this book in 1980. She gives three techniques to use in a speech which can make a person charismatic.  Charisma she defines as "the ability to make others believe you and want to do anything you ask of them." (Elgin 1980: 212)  The difference between coercion and charisma shows up in the response of Adlai Stevenson.  When complimented on a speech, he pointed out that "people often said what nice speeches he made, but that after John F. Kennedy's speeches they said, 'Let's march!'  That  is charisma." (p. 213)   The three techniques, of which the first was used by none other than John F. Kennedy himself, are as follows: 1. Parallelism 2. The Unifying Metaph...

An important question is, “Who are His?” There is one possible way to answer this: “He who is in Jesus.”   “Holy is the Lord,” the angels in heaven sing, but in this world is still no understanding.   Faith is like playing a game of darts Where bull’s eye is when you hit the heart.   This Love has only a single source It comes not by coercion or force.   The picture of peace is portrayed as a dove But the picture of our dreams is mostly love.   Chocolate bunnies now depict Easter When the truth is found in what God’s done, No further, no nearer.     He loved His Son Jesus and made Him new And promised the same for all who believed, but there are only a few.   We want everything quick and snappy But going slow is often what makes us happy.   For then we open our eyes to see There is Someone far more important than me.