When I started with God’s crazy plan (said with respect of course – because in my mind it did not make sense at all) for Beroepsvrou’s desk pads, calendars and other dated items, notebooks and mouse pads, I just did it. I did not think about it and I did not really plan much. I am starting to realise more and more just HOW God’s Upside-Down Kingdom works – His calculations are not our calculations, His plans are not our plans, His time is not our time.
To just do things without thinking is a bit out of my comfort zone. Because for my day job, that is ALL that I must do. Plan and think – everything must make sense you know? When it came to Beroepsvrou, I just pushed through (never in my life have I ever experienced anything like this before, feeling how hard God pressed something on my heart) and the slogan, if I can call it that, that Beroepsvrou identifies with and what everything is about, is Pink Feathers™ for God. When I talk about Pink Feathers™ I am referring to the Flamingos and what God revealed to me about that bird specie. If you still don’t know what it is about – go to the Pink Feathers™ category – start with the oldest article and work your way through to the newest article on my blog.
This was also the theme for the first year of the Pink Feathers™ range, not only dated items, but notebooks and mouse pads too. I soon realised that Flamingo’s are not everyone’s flavour and that one gets tired of looking at the same picture on your diary or desk pad for 12 months. January 2022 (one year ago) I had a moment of absolute panic so to speak about what 2023’s theme will be and how it will work in the future. Yes, I know, it was a WHOLE year in advance, but there IS this part of my personality that likes the planning part (although I actually don’t like it, but anyway – does this even make sense to feel like this? Almost a love-hate relationship with planning).
Now it feels as if I am taking a wide turn telling this story and getting to the point. But, the point that I want to make is, that shortly after having this moment, God gave confirmation, early February 2022, of the theme for 2023, something that I was wondering about. Again, it was in such a wonderful manner, like only God can. It was one of those fist pump moments with God. My redheaded friend (in my opinion everyone needs one of those – a real Ginger) came to visit me one Saturday. We had been struggling to make a date to see each other and our visit was long overdue. Very modest and embarrassed, she hands over a gift with the words “Abba Father said you had questions about this and that I must give this to you” something to that effect.
I look down to my hands at what she had given me – a set of clay earrings, red pomegranates. I burst into tears almost immediately, because that was one of my questions to God (no one knew it). Can I do a theme, what must it be, can I use Pomegranates? With that I obviously had a ton of other questions too, and as time is progressing, they are being answered.
The speed at which I got my answer, made me realise again that the planning that goes into Beroepsvrou, is just going to be totally different than that of my day job. There is planning, but the way God wants to do it and not the way the world determines it. Now this brings me to the first scripture for 2023 on the desk pad, here at the end of January. This was a BUSY month, worse than what I had experienced before and hence the reason why I am only getting to this now. Nothing drastic has changed work wise and I cannot place my finger on it and why it feels like this – the rush getting worse. It is what it is. Probably deadlines being moved forward and shortened that actually contributes to the chaos that I feel around me.
I felt that thís Bibleverse is applicable to the theme for 2023, and even though it refers to fruit that is not named in the Bible, (it refers to a vine and branches so one can only think and assume that it refers to grapes), but, I recon Pomegranates can also work for this purpose. I think it can be any fruit actually – grapes, apples or oranges. But God laid Pomegranates on my heart. We can only bear fruit when we are IN HIM. This comes back to the Pink Feathers™ – because what are you filling yourself with? Does the fruit that you bear show that you have Pink Feathers™ for God? What fruit are your Pink Feathers™ bearing? Do you tell people that you are a Pomegranate tree, but then, the fruit that you bear is bananas and is so far removed from that which you proclaim and what your actions show?
Without Jesus we cannot do anything, as we are taught in this scripture. When we are IN Him and fill ourselves with HIM then we will bear much fruit. Do you live in Him? And does He live in you? Do you bear fruit? What fruit do you bear? Does your walk and talk agree? At the beginning of the new year (the Year of Jubilee), when everything just feels faster than what we can handle, it is difficult to stick to this and proceed with it. It is then, in the middle of what feels like chaos, that we must be reminded of this scripture. We must live it and SHOW people that God is in us, and we are in Him. Our fruit must agree with our words and deeds and vice versa. What fruit do your Pink Feathers™ bear?
