Verity's Blog

Thought for the week

I wish you well as you embark
On your journey of  discovery,
Knowing it is a path you must walk alone.

And although I cannot aid your walking,
I pray that my love
Will light each step you take,
And my memory will bring
Each dream closer.

I am, now and always your friend,
To be found
In the sanctuary and solitude of slumber.
I hold a light to your spirit
And salute who you are.

Carry me in your heart,
As I will carry you in mine.

                        

Verity

Thought for the week

Your life is a book,
You write each day.

You create the  story
And what you want to  say.

You decide where you are  going,
Based on where you come  from.

But to make sense of  it all
It helps to know
which page you are on.

                  

Verity

Everything happens for a reason...

A brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, while planning to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October excited about their opportunities.
 
When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.  On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving  rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.  O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.

His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor  and, not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home.

On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.  By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.  Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet.. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"  The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there.  They were.
 
These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.  The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria . When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.  Her husband was going to follow her the next week.  He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that as the least he could do.. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great.  At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return.

One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving.  The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike. H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten  Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.  He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid

Thought for the week

Allow a moment to pass, sand through the hourglass.
Try to refrain from asking too many questions,
Some things are best left alone.
Too much understanding doesn’t always show the truth…
Analysis robs things of true meaning,
Undone, a poem is merely words,
And seeing isn’t always believing,
Merely the result of a turning world.

                            

Verity

Meet Christine Jita

Here's the woman herself to tell you more about what she does at Ilitha Nursery School and hopefully inspire you to contribute to her incredible work and vision : )

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A Woman Worth Helping...

Last week I was fortunate enough to go to Khayelitsha with some friends to drop off a trailer full of stuff for a small nursery school to sell at their annual rummage sale. I was humbled and inspired by what we found there. Ilitha School is no more than a container that has been brightly painted and now serves as the home to 40 young children daily. The woman behind the school is the bubbly and infectuous Christine Jita, and to hear her talk about her young students and her vision for growing the school to serve all the children in her area was amazing!

They desperately need support in realising that vision. Two quick ways to contribute are either to help them get a great playground organised with a proper slide and jungle gym (maybe club some friends together and donate one???)   OR  if you can help them have permanent loos put in - ie dig the correct holes, concrete slabs to have them on, proper piping etc. Once that is sorted they will be able to expand and have 80 children being looked after every day instead on on the street. It is that simple for one woman to make a huge difference. I am in awe!

Contact:  082 715 1168    /  021 3632053  to help and get involved

Thought for the week

I had a dream come true today
And in its coming - my world turned,
And left me standing to survey
The path by which I had come.

It was a winding road,
And in its windings flowers grew
In the memory of my footprints.

I had thought to see
A single set wind towards me,
But with mine followed many more
Of the ones who had walked
Together with me on that path.

And I was content that I had not walked alone,
But that you had been there as I travelled,
And your presence made the passing easier.

                                 

Verity

Pampered by one of my Future Owners...

I have just had the awesome experience of a two hour pampering session at REVEAL BEAUTY BAR that was given to me by Jacqui Kent who is Future Owner #1414! Jacqui saw me talking at an event in August and after buying a CD sent me a mail to offer me some TLC at her spa. It has taken me until now to find the time to actually go, and after today I am sold. It is one of the most magical and quaint places I have been to - situated in an old homestead in Rondebosch - homely and inviting. My therapist Candice was such a gentle and lovely woman who made me feel completely at home from the moment I arrived. I floated out to my car after two hours of bliss and will definitely be going back when I need to recharge my batteries! Check out their website to get an idea of what they offer and then treat yourself or a loved one to a very special experience! 

Introducing my next Live Your Dreams Artist...

As the album has been coming to an end it felt right to help my next Live Your Dreams Artist take a step in their career. So, the day after I finished in studio with Paul, a lovely young singer Beverly spent the day with him working on two demos. I managed to pop in on my way to the airport and get this quick clip of her to let all my Future Owners see another person they have helped!

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Do you think this me?

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This is a great website for what looks like a very special movie - The Golden Compass. Take a moment to agree/disagree with the animal daemon it gave me and then have fun taking your own test and see who your animal shadow is! Enjoy...