Older people had a way of saying something. When my grandma called me and I responded vaguely with, I’m coming now, she would say: Yes, and Christmas too! Here we are again. Christmas is indeed coming. November rushes past in a whirlwind of activities, and then December is upon us. As always, it’s our challenge to provide the true essence of…
Author: Ansophie Joubert
Writer and speaker in women's ministry.
251. Light in the tunnel…s
It is correct – the plural of tunnel. I know we often use the expression “light at the end of the tunnel” to signify hope in a situation that may seem dark now. Tunnel or tunnels – we are searching for light. A tunnel is always dark without light being brought in from outside. We read…
250. Angels around us
Fantasy is popular – always was. I grew up with stories from the imaginary and illusionary world with entirely farfetched realms of witches, fairies, kings and queens, princes and princesses, dwarves and gnomes, both good and bad. In the last volume of an encyclopedia in our home there were stories from various parts of the world –…
249. The sound of the trumpet
At the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere, it is time for the three fall festivals of Israel, which kick off with the Feast of Trumpets. This was a one-day festival associated with the blowing of the ram’s horn. In most translations today, the ram’s horn (shofar) is translated as a trumpet. The trumpet was…
248. Ghosts and gods
We are all rational beings who live our lives with wisdom and discernment, without succumbing to the follies of wickedness and godlessness. It is sometimes inevitable to witness a life within a family or circle of friends take a wrong turn and descend into tragedy, while feeling powerless to help. This is not necessarily due to…
247. The enemy of your enemy
I am an enemy of your enemy, and I will save your children. (Isaiah 49:25b) This phrase from the Bible has been a part of my life for a long time. I heard the words many years ago from my mother’s mouth. It stayed with me, but I had forgotten the last part… and I will save your children….
246. Great upheaval
I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound;decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled.Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Have you read these words before? If not, would you be able to guess from which book and chapter from the Bible they are? The…
245. If the foundations…
If the foundations are destroyed,What can the righteous do? (Psalms 11:3) It is only a children’s story after all with all the dramatic differences in the details while telling the same story – three little pigs, their houses and the big bad wolf that blows, with the threat of biting and, of course, killing. Little pigs are…
244. The Church – militant and triumphant
Two principles. One story, one miracle. Fishes in the deep sea, fishes in the shallow sea. Jesus speaking, Jesus on the beach. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good…
243. A “Rome-day”
Slowly but surely during my childhood years, I acquired a deep admiration for Europe and everything European – lifestyle, food and gardening combined with all the gorgeous fabrics and furniture, coffee in cozy cafés, tea in dainty cups and teapots with tea cozies insulating the brew to stretch the ritual of a culture that celebrated creativity…
Pebbles of Perpetuity 