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Scenes of Autumn

There is something beautiful about watching the season change. When I lived in Durban, because we only really had a wet season and dry season, we didn’t really see the changing of the seasons. So here in New Zealand I am soaking up the changes as well as the last of the sun soaked days, trying to store the heat for the promise of a colder winter than I am used to.As I walk through my beautiful little town of Cambridge, I am delighted with the sights, sounds and of course the chill that has sta...

Are you doing Busyness or Business?

Have you ever looked at a business person and thought, “Wow look at how busy they are; they must be incredibly successful”? Busyness can often be mistaken for productivity. This is something I realised a few years ago in my business I ran in South Africa. I was so busy that I was bursting at the seams, and people were commenting about how my business was growing at a rate of knots. When they did, I would smile and play along – while inside I was thinking, “So why isn’t my bank balance ...

Take Courage!

Ever wonder where that phrase comes from? I did, and it is a phrase that fascinates me because it speaks to me about Action! And you know me, I’m an action gal. So I looked it up, as one does, and discovered a lovely new word…vicissitude! I will explain what it means in a minute for those who haven’t already clicked on the word to find out what it is…Courage, I learned, is the state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear or vicissitudes with self-pos...

The Journey from Here to There

I picked up one of the 5 printed books I have left of my book and started to read it again this week, my son asked me why I would read my own book.  I told him because I had forgotten what I wrote and actually its quite good…  So I was wondering if I should print some more for New Zealand, have a read of an excerpt from the book, pass it on to your mates and leave a comment…..“This is a book about a journey – a journey out of the familiar, often uncomfortable place ca...

Looking Back.

I am not one for looking back. I can’t even read a book twice in most cases. I have ‘Futuristic’ in my Strength set, so I am all about looking to the future and moving towards it. But there are times when looking back has its place, especially at the beginning of a year.At the start of each year I book some time into my diary to look back at the previous year. Sometimes I do it alone, sometimes with friends, sometimes I even run or attend a course to force myself if I lack motivation.First...

Creating your Best Day

I have had so many people expressing surprise that I am settling into our new life in New Zealand so quickly – and to be honest, I sometimes catch myself feeling surprised too. Now I cannot discount the fact that I know exactly where my blessings are coming from – thank you Jesus! – but I also want to acknowledge something my coach did with me when I went through my last transition. (Yes, coaches have coaches, or the best ones do, and I don’t mean that in an arrogant way. Note to se...

Recognising the Season

“Be patient my young Padawan!” For you Star Wars fans, you will understand…This is the tongue-in-cheek comment I just made to my husband who is really keen to use the new fishing pole he’s just got. The only problem is that the rest of his fishing gear and tackle is floating somewhere on the sea between South Africa and New Zealand. Isn’t that just like life sometimes?We all wish we could press a button and miss the in-between part of the journey from Here to There. This is especi...

Could your biggest enemy in life be You?

Sometimes our biggest enemy in life and business isn’t actually the devil, it is ourselves. Does this shock you? Think I am wrong? Read on a bit and hear me out.I think sometimes he just sets the stage, or sets things in motion, presenting us with the experience or circumstance and then stands back to watch us unwind. In my life personally, he has come presenting me with the scenario and then stood back with glee as I “took it from there” normally to very dark and lonely places.How we resp...

Choosing Your Destination.

Once a colleague and I were travelling back from a meeting in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal. I was driving and, after pulling over to take a call, I took the wrong on-ramp to the highway. My colleague and I had been chatting away for about an hour when we suddenly realised that we had been travelling in the wrong direction, heading towards Johannesburg instead of Durban. We only noticed once we saw a signpost saying we were nearing Harrismith. We had a good laugh, turned the car around and calle...

Carpe Diem!

I love stories from the Old Testament; they are so rich with the character of God and lessons for life. We often read them and think that the men and women of that time were quite different from us – somehow superhuman. But they weren’t; they were normal people whose only claim to fame was that they believed in their God and acted on it. What’s more, we are even better equipped than them since we have the Holy Spirit leading us today.I love the story of Jonathan and his...

3 Keys to Combating Overwhelm

What is overwhelm? “Overwhelm” is technically a verb, but with the following meanings it’s easy to see why it’s become the latest noun in today’s fast-paced world. advancing sand dunes could overwhelm the village: swamp, submerge, engulf, bury, deluge, flood, inundate.Canada overwhelmed the U.S. in the hockey final: defeat (utterly/heavily), trounce, rout, beat (hollow), conquer, vanquish, be victorious over, triumph over, worst, overcome, overthrow, crush; informal: thrash, ...

Busyness vs Fruitfulness

Thought I would share an article I wrote for Connect Magazine .  So much has changed for the better since then.Have you ever looked at a business person and thought, “Wow look at how busy they are; they must be incredibly successful?”Busyness can often be mistaken for productivity. This is something I realised a few months ago in my business. I was so busy that I was bursting at the seams and people were commenting about how my business was growing at a rate of knots. When the...

From the Ends of the Earth to Middle Earth.

Our adventure from Here to There begins….A year ago I was preparing to travel to New Zealand with my mum. It was an unexpected trip as my Dad was supposed to go with my mum, but for some reason he just wouldn’t go. With much excitement our mother-daughter adventure began with the long trek to Auckland. I hadn’t seen my brother and his precious family since they had left South Africa 7 years before.I had told all the New Zealanders I had connected with through Connect Magazine that I w...

Is it over?

Last year I had to face this question in a part of my business that was very dear to my heart. Pulling the plug is a tough moment in every business, especially when it is something you are incredibly passionate about.So why do we continue to do things we know have come to an end?For starters, every second social media post says “Don’t give up”, so it feels like we are giving up when we lay something down. When I was in this situation, I asked my friend, mentor and coach this question: “H...

Show up and make the request!

I recently saw a post on Facebook which got me thinking. It was by a lady we knew when we lived in Paradise Valley, and who moved to Canada many years ago. Her now grown-up daughter went to a U2 concert a few months ago, carrying this sign:...

Turn that frown upside down!

When I was a little girl, back when records or LPs were in fashion (yes I am that old, and I might just add they are cool again! #justsaying), I had a little portable record player. I took it around to a friend’s house one day because she had this really cool LP she wanted to play. I can’t remember what it was about; all I remember was that it was a “Barney” kind of thing that had a story with a moral at the end. All I remember about that record was one little phrase that has never left ...

The Thing About Positivity

Many people who know me think that I am a bubble of joy all the time – a lot like Joy in Inside Out actually – and that I never have a bad day because of my sunny disposition. What many don’t realise is that I am sometimes very sad, feel lonely, and life can sometimes be very hard and unfair. Funnily enough, when my boys were tiny, I bumped into an old teacher of mine who told me that a few teachers in the staffroom had once voted me “most likely to commit suicide”. Yes, I kn...

Networking: A Key Business Tool

Networking is a key skill in business, especially in Durban. It is not what you know but whom you know. A few years ago, I was at a networking event chatting to a very nervous person who was literally looking at the door plotting the quickest escape route, I have a radar for picking up these people and because I am also a natural encourager I have this huge need to go make them feel better. It then dawned on me that not everyone enjoyed networking like me and it came as such a surprise. I also r...

Do you know where you are?

Unless you know where you are, you won’t know which direction you should go.As with any journey, there needs to be a place to start.  To find your bearings you need to know exactly where you are right now.  Most of us never take the time to think about this.  At some point we get into the routine of life, and before we even know it, it has become a rut.Definition of a rut:  A grave with the sides kicked out.Life is made for living and experiencing. We are supposed to feel a...

The Sense of Entitlement.

I had been watching the news in South Africa with a heavy heart and it has brought this word into my focus: Entitlement. In itself it is not a bad word and as children of the Most High God we are entitled to some pretty amazing stuff; but the sense of entitlement I see around me – especially, but not limited to, the younger generation – really troubles me.So when does our sense of entitlement start overreaching the mark? Many Christians live beneath what they are entitled to. What I mea...

Creating Margins for a full life

The best of me requires time for all of me.  Each facet of my life requires attention and resourcefulness. I cannot expect to be whole if I sacrifice one part of who I am for another.  Mike Ivey  At the beginning of this year, our Pastor preached a sermon about creating Margins in our life and it has been one of my key objectives this year.  I am inclined to throw myself into my work with passion and purpose and can often be very unbalanced.  So this year, I was det...

The Land in between

This is what I shared at our End of Year Breakfast for KBN, I have had so many people asking for my notes so I decided to write a blog about it.  I have left the section from my book out so it wasn’t too long.  Will maybe do a separate post for that…. The Airport. My recent trip to New Zealand had me in a few airports and on the way back, after a grueling 26 hours in transit, I arrived in Johannesburg, with swollen ankles, dry and cracked lips, thumping head,  absolutely ...

Free to be ME

I recently went on a trip to New Zealand that turned out to be more than what I expected it to be.  The occasion was celebrating my little big brothers 40th.  While I was there I thought I would connect with some of my facebook friends in New Zealand and wrote a few emails letting them know that I would be in the country and expressed an interest in connecting with them.It was an incredible trip, with some amazing God moments which are only starting to land now.  In the week since...

Don’t steal today’s Peace and Joy…

So a friend and I were chatting on Whatsapp as I was capturing those last few lazy moments in bed, like only you can on the odd Saturday morning.  She was commiserating leaving her holiday location to come home and face a week back at work.  Back to reality….  I tapped in this comment and then was stuck by it.  Very impressed with myself for coming up with it actually.  So impressed I actually posted it on Facebook tonight.  Vanity, I tell you Vanity.No actua...

So when did being ourselves become a bad thing?

I am in the very fortune position to be able to sit under the “teaching” of an exceptional man who recently took us through the process of a book that he is writing at the moment, soon to be released.  I will let you know when it is out there, not sure exactly what the name of the book will eventually be called, but it is all about The Genesis Question.  I don’t want to spoil it for you, but this question will unlock that question that got introduced to you that has insidiou...