Out-of-the-Ordinary Insurance

Top of the Morning to ya!


    I saw this on the back of a car at Kruger Int. Airport... To my utter amusement, the car showed signs of curious people wanting to see whether or not this was an empty threat!

                     


"Well... That's all I have to say about that."

Moving Right Along... (Are You Singing it Now??)

Top of the morning to ya!!!


     It's been crazy hectic with the Whitlocks, to say the least. But in it all, God is faithful and there are more awesome adventures to tell the grandkids about. ;-)


   We are now staying in a lovely eco-reserve where there are wildebeasts, giraffes, jackals, guinea fowls, monkeys, zebras, Kudu, etc... All game animals. Now, people can ask us if we see giraffes in our backyard and we can answer: YES!



                    (I once got asked by an American if I rode giraffes to school... Seriously???) 



    We are about to have a massive Thanksgiving and are excited to present this all- American holiday to our curious South African friends... Prayerfully, it'll be a success! Our blessed Food Fundi friends offered to do the turkeys. They are currently at the top of my "Favourite People" list.

   Morgan and I got quite a kick out of a friend (who gave us permission to share this) who came up to Mo and said: Ok. Tell me... What is the difference between the 4th of July and Thanksgiving??? - We died with laughter. My friend, Ash, said: Just tell her the difference in the voice of the lady from The Patriot: Ooooh FIREWORKS!!


    Anywho... Here are some photos from the past few weeks:

Meet Marli... Or Molly (no one has clarified that for me, yet)... She's cute at first sight... But then she left lovely messes for us that made her STINK. 

Gabbi and the pup... She's like a live teddy bear.

Our friend's home... Single guy lived in this house!! I still can't get over it! I told my mom if I got married yesterday I'd buy it. haha ;-)

Gab and the dog, again.

The back of the house.

The view from our temporary home... It's in the same reserve we'll be staying in.

The back view...

I love landscape photos so here's more...

And in case you couldn't really tell in the other photos... ;-)

HENRIK CAME TO VISIT!!! He is a very good friend of the family. Former Swedish navy diver and my scuba instructor from when we lived in Moçambique. It was so awesome seeing him!!

The boys and two of their partners in crime: David (being squashed at the bottom) and Will.

My friend, Ridwana, and I made creme puffs... Well, she did most of the work. We made the mistake of making them when my bros had there buddies over. This is the lone survivor. 

I made some applesauce that was mercilessly devoured, also... Food barely survives in the Whitlock household.

I've also been doing some baking for our young adults' cell group. This was a lemon-strawberry bundt cake. I love strawberry anything. 

Dad took his Whitlock ladies to Pretoria with him for meetings. Thankfully, we were able to drop him off and explore. It's SO beautiful there. 

I don't know why but I really liked this bridge... Nothing especially spectacular about it.

So... this is cool! Being in Pretoria and seeing a really nice Harley-Davidson store.

This is the entrance to Menlyn Mall.

We were naughty and bought two different smoothies from two different establishments... Gabbi and Mo brough their New Zealand smoothies to where Mom and I were sitting at Kauai. 

She's just too cute, this gal!

Driving around on Steven Bikko street... Apparently, this used to have an Afrikaans name. Very confusing all these name changes. My friend, who is from Pretoria, said you can drive on the same street for several robots and the name will change up to four times. I'm curious to see if GPS systems will be able to keep up with these political changes. 

Driving home from Pretoria.

This poor car probably thought we were FBI instead of foreigners soaking in the scenery.

The colours were so vibrant after the rain! Dad was driving too fast for me to take a clear photo. ;-)

"Well... That's all I have to say about that."

No Ordinary Sign

  Top of the morning to ya!

 

    The Whitlocks are now living in an eco-estate where we have the privilege of seeing wild game everyday. Contrary to popular American assumption, you don't just see African wildlife walking around wherever you go. You actually have to travel to game parks, etc. to even see animals. Excepting, of course, the monkeys that reside like squirrels in our trees.

    So awesome!



   Anyways, here is a "photo of the day" of sorts.

"Well... That's all I have to say about that."

All Hallow Evening

Top of the morning to ya!

    It's been quite a while since I've posted... We've had to move a couple of times in the past week and are finally settled in. Praise God! 

    I've been having a lot of interesting conversations with family, friends, and strangers that have stirred a lot of meditation in God's Word. As an American, I've had several people here approach me about Halloween and whether or not I celebrate it. 

Never have. Never will. 

  But, now that we are older, we do enjoy handing out treats to the children who come and my dad has quite a bit of fun making the little trick-or-treaters laugh. As our good friends describe him, he is a friend to "the little people". 

   Christians have conflicting opinions on whether or not handing out treats is condoning the holiday. I do believe that God did not call us to hide. We cannot impact the world by cutting off all interactions. A smile and even a scripture in a candy wrapper can plant a seed. 

  On the same note, however, we cannot influence the world if we are not grounded in the Word of God and fully embracing His calling. I did not understand when I was little girl how just "going for the candy" with my friends was still celebrating. Now, I fully understand and embrace what the Bible has to say on the subject.

  Morgan recently showed me two ironic posts on Facebook. Both were quite unexpected considering their authors. One gal, an old acquaintance, had a provocative status and photo of her drunken Halloween. It was quite shocking considering that she claims to be a believer, was home-educated, and comes from what would be considered a conservative family. Just below her status on the homepage was another status about Halloween from an unbelieving acquaintance. This gal shared her observation of how progressively demonic this "holiday" is (there is nothing HOLY about the day) and how more girls who celebrate it see it as another opportunity to be promiscuous in their choice of costumes. 

  Interesting. The person who claims to be the believer looks just like the world and the unbeliever is the one evaluating how Halloween revolves around demonic practices.

  Several South Africans - secular and professing Christians, alike - have said to me: you Americans celebrate witchcraft because it is not a reality to your culture. It is a thrill. We South Africans see witchcraft played out on a regular basis and have a healthy understanding of its darkness. 

  

  I have to admit, Folks... I was surprised at how many more of my Christian friends were involved in Halloween this year. Why the compromise? There's nothing "innocent" about 6+ year olds showing up in vampire costumes with fake fangs that drip a red liquid. In fact, the history of Halloween isn't "innocent" in the least. The Celts and Scots, who brought it to America, celebrated the darker time of the year - Samhain - and the festival was led by the Celtic Druids. (Druids were an exclusive cult that practiced witchcraft and were highly respected by Celts because of their demonic powers.) 

   In short: Halloween (read the link for Ken Ham's excellent expansion of the history) is a celebration of the dead. 

  Why are we as Christians flirting with darkness? I love what one pastor said to a Satanist: God does not make deals with the devil. We, as Christians, are called to advance, celebrate, and proclaim the message of life. Not death. We have been made ALIVE in Christ. Brought out of the dominion of darkness and out of our dead state. 

   The Gospel does not leave room for compromise. When Jesus chose His disciples, He called the most unlikely individuals together under one banner. The World's culture had no say. A great example of strong biblical culture was the Acts 4 church. This body of believers from various stations in life shared a common goal that superseded any material or earthly goals: the advancement of God's Kingdom. Many were added to them as a result.

   Light and darkness cannot abide together in harmony. There is no middle ground. Jesus said in Matthew 10:34,

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."

   That sword is the truth of God's Word. It separates the sheep from the goats. I love what GK Chesterton said:

"Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions."

   Our pastor preached an excellent sermon on Kingdom culture, today. I loved his analogy of the military. He went in as a "cool" youth who had trendy hair, clothes, speech, and way of walking. When he joined the military, he had to take on the strict military culture. His "cool" culture was thrown to the curb and no longer applied or would be accepted under military regiment. This should very much so be the case with Christian culture. Romans 6:6-10 says,

"...knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

   Does that not cover it all? Right there: we are no longer to live according to the flesh - in sin - and we do not celebrate death but LIFE. When we as believers live like the world our actions say that what Christ did on the cross just wasn't good enough. Lord, forgive us! As my mentor admonished me, I charge my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ: take very personally what Jesus did on the cross for you. Do not allow others to blaspheme our God.

    I heard it said that when you insult Islam you insult the muslim. Why is this not so with the believer? We serve the One and Only righteous God. The "lion-like lamb and lamb-like lion", as John Piper once put it in his book Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ. 

  It is not appropriate for us, as Christians, to ride the fence. So many scriptures warn us to be on our guard, to be aware, and not allow our senses to be dulled by the norms of this world. We are but sojourners on earth. We cannot compromise. There is a battle cry and victory is the Lord's. Let us move in that victory. 

"But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." {Hebrews 5:14}

"Well... That's all I have to say about that."

Rain Spiders and Jerusalem Crickets, and Beetles, OH MY!

    T-top of the morning to ya!

 

    I am currently scratching myself nervously due to the creepy crawlies... Guys, all of the insects in King Kong are REAL!! They must've done a casting call in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga because alllll of those bugs are living it up in a golf estate and giving a particular welcome to the Whitlocks.

   Recently, to my utter dismay, I heard someone say that if all of the bugs in the world were exterminated, human life would not exist in 50 years... That is just a sad thought. The other sad thought is that the Afrikaners have made me reevaluate my murderous ways. Their rule is if you kill it, you eat it. Otherwise, rescue the bugs and put them back in their natural habitat.

   Problem is, they seem to be naturally inclined to trespass upon the Whitlock premises.

   I didn't blog about the rain spider; but that was a frightening experience. I can handle reptiles and amphibians... Lions and rhinos. Etc. But anything with more than four legs is on my hit-list. I discovered the existence of the rain spider (or the Huntsman spider) when I was using our little powder room a few weeks ago. I was going to wash my hands when I saw eight eyes shift and stare at me. I SCREAMED and sprinted out of that bathroom.

  My brothers wouldn't even get it when they got one look. Dad was out of town. So... We called our superhero and the REAL Spiderman - Shaun Adams - to come up and rescue us. He got a real kick out of "The Americans" and taught Gab (the only brave soul) how to catch spiders. He said you can actually handle these disgusting, 8-legged, hairy man-hand sized creeps.

   I would've taken a photo but I ran out too quickly.

   Today, however, was when it dawned on me just what jurassic creatures we have in our midst. We got home from dinner and saw what was the equivalent to an elephant hiding behind a pillar: a Jerusalem cricket trying to crawl under our front door to hide from us. I don't know why HE was scared.
 
   The one we caught is much much uglier than the photos online. It serves him no justice. He looks like his mother was a half cricket and half ant and his father was a scorpion. HUGE. And my favourite part of the description in our insect guide was the fact that they have a terrible bite. Yes, folks. He's huge, can jump, has the face of a Goliath-an ant, and can BITE. I didn't take a photo of him because I am afraid my faithful iPhone is too small to capture the size of that thing. He is now in a jar and showing himself aggressive to anyone who tips it to get a look.

  So, the moral of my story is: King Kong is realistic. Forget dinosaur days. They all just migrated to Africa and the Middle East.



"Well... That's all I have to say about that."

Apple of My Eye

Top of the morning to ya! 

     We have had the opportunity to meet a lovely family in our neighborhood. The ladies of the house have been very intentional about extending hospitality for afternoon tea and, boy, did they go all the way! We were showered with luxurious pastries and samoosas that were all home made. Our family has been blessed by their generosity.

      I decided to show our gratitude by making my all-American absolute favourite dessert: Apple Pie. 

     I grew up on my grandfather and mother's apple pies. Theirs are so good that I have to dare myself to try any other. None can match theirs. I have also had the privilege to observe how they make theirs and take some tips. No two chefs cook or bake the same way and a true one always incorporates a secret ingredient and a unique trait that makes theirs forever different from ANYone else's. :-) 

     I'll be honest and say I like mine too. But I have to give credit where credit is due and I like it because of the great examples I've had in the two relatives aforementioned. (I just wanted to use that word.) 

   I'd have to seriously practice to match theirs in a competition. However, in a pinch, it'll do. Besides, who else will be willing to feed my insatiable appetite for this stupendous dessert?? I am not a chocolate fan like my mother. I LOVE anything with fruit and could eat it all day everyday for the rest of my life! 

   Ladies and gentelmen... Behold: 

Due to my compassion for the masses, I'll share one tip that my mother taught me. If you want a good apple pie DO NOT use Granny Smith apples!!! ... We love the mild sweetness of the Golden Delicious  I will never deviate unless it is that rare occasion when I feel adventurous enough to mix in either a few Fuji or Pink Lady apples. (Blurry photo courtesy of Caelyn's iPhone.)

I only got one uninteresting blurry photo of Morgan's pie crust process. She is the QUEEN of pie crust. I'm so thankful to her for making them every time I go into this project.

All the goodies being mixed in: white sugar, brown sugar, secret ingredient, secret ingredient, water, salt, butter, flour, etc.

Morgan does not understand this about me... but I can't resist pie crust dough and I get beyond tickled when there's some left over. I can't believe I am admitting this but I must.... *heavy sigh*... I roll my ball of dough in sugar and eat it. Yup! It's out. That's what I do! I am guilty. It was me.

  This time, there was a considerable amount of dough left. So after Gabbi and I ate some delectable sugar-rolled dough balls, Gab came up with the superb idea of sauteeing it in coconut oil with sugar and cinnamon. Then I decided to put the leftover apple filling in my portion of dough, seal it like a dumpling, and sauté THAT in coconut oil, sugar, and cinnamon. Since it had coconut oil it was good for us, right?!? - Mom and Dad loved it. Even my disciplined sister, Morgan, couldn't resist trying it! Score.

My pies never look identical so I marked the pretty one for our friends. I really hope they enjoy it as much as I do. The pastry chef daughter has NEVER had one... I can't let her see another day without sharing in my favourite dessert. 

"Well... That's all I have to say about that."

The King We Have Chosen

 

Top of the morning to ya! 

    I've been hearing a lot about the government shutdown and enjoying my laughs at political puns and cartoons. I find myself gaining much satisfaction in blogposts and articles that reveal the TRUE agenda of the US government. I also like being able to say: Eh. That doesn't surprise me. After all, this is the government we're talking about. They're basically legalised mafia. 

    I have extremely low - if any - respect for our government. There are a few people I may esteem lightly. But overall, in my opinion, you have to compromise to a degree in order to make it in politics. My mom read a great article the other day that pretty much expressed the vengeful spirit hovering deep within me. As the daughter of a former Army Ranger, I am loyal and proud of the men that serve and their wives/girlfriends and families that support them. I am grateful for the firemen, policemen, the private farmers, and other faithful people in various occupations who have been the backbone of America. When I think of what makes me proud to be an American, I think of these people. 

Not the government. 

    Despite the rooted bitterness that I face every time I read about the nonsense in American politics; I can't help but be reminded of when the Israelites first asked for a king. We do not serve a king. But that was the form of government they were used to and they wanted to be like the nations that surrounded them. 

   America claims to be founded off of biblical principles and Bible-believing founders (I'll spare you my opinion on that). - With this heritage in mind, I will take us back to one of my favourite passages that holds me accountable. It serves as a good reminder for we professing Christians who find ourselves complaining about Obama and every other government figure that we've found ourselves paying exorbitant amounts of taxes to. 

   In 1 Samuel 8, the leaders of Israel approached Samuel demanding a King. Why?? Samuel's sons had rejected the ways of their father, they believed a King could rule them and judge righteously over them, and they wanted to be like the other nations. Samuel's heart did not feel at peace when he heard this. Nevertheless, he prayed to the LORD and this was His answer:

"Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day - in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods - so they are doing to you also. Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them."

What procedure was the LORD referring to???

1.) He will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots.

2.) He will appoint commanders of thousands and of fifties: to plow, to reap harvest, to make weapons of war, and to make equipment for his chariots.

3.) He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants.

4.) He will take a tenth of your seed. 

5.) He will take a tenth of your flocks and you, yourselves, will become his servants.

   Sound familiar??? I, for one can definitely see that played out in today's government. But look at what the LORD also warned:

"Then you will cry out in that day because your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day."

  Does THAT sound familiar??? I'd say so. As much as we can blame and hate our government and/or their decisions, we have reaped what we've sown. We raised these leaders. We ignored the warning signs of our trajectory long ago and are "suddenly" surprised by an intelligent, selfish man (Obama) who is manifesting *exactly* what our Marxist society nurtured.

   When the animated movie, Wall-E, came out I was disturbed. It was so so true. We, as Americans, have taken the bait of entertainment and celebrity news. We have allowed ourselves to be numbed and distracted by useless idiocy rather than being aware of the times. 

   Scriptures that speak about being aware and praying for our leaders are really standing out. Why would God warn us? He has warned His people once and we ignored. Now we find ourselves exactly where the Israelites were warned they would be under a king other than God. Yet, in His infinite mercy, He has given us another warning:

1.) Be on your guard.

2.) Know the times.

and,

3.) Pray for those in leadership over you. 

... As much as I want to bash the government (and find myself still doing it), I pray that I will take heed and come up with solutions that are grounded in the Word of God. What kind of future are we fighting for for our children?? During the Labor Movement in the states, many people were hanged by the government so that we could work an 8hr day! How much more so should we fight for the rights and souls of our children???

"Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Joshua 24: 14-15

"Well... That's all I have to say about that."