God Never Lets Go

Dedicated to Brantley Pacheco, you will want to read this and I encourage you to lay your hands on the DVD.

I do not know how Louie Giglio the american preacher does it. I was watching his DVD How Great is Our God. I said in a previous blog that we are in fact little ants and he even went to illustrate by comparing earth to a Golf Ball and if you can hold a golf ball and try to find yourself you will in fact struggle because we are in fact little ants living on a pale blue dot the size of a golf ball in the galaxy. Now that you feel so small you may ask why does such a massive God care about us, our dreams and passions and its because he made every single part of us. As an aspiring gymnast going through a tough time and i'm sure you have read about my journey and even the updates, even though I'm a tiny little ant he still cares for me and those who are reading this having a tough time and doesn't let go but holds us together and helps us through trials, tribulation and storms and sets out to help us through those times in our lives. I'm going to show you something spectacular and its a main protein Molecule called Laminin

Incredible isn't it. The very protein molecule holding us together is in fact in the shape of the cross of Jesus and thats why somehow during all this tough emotional time of having put my shot of provincials and nationals on hold gives me hope that I will fight this moment in my life and fight for next year knowing that I wont settle for anything less. Louie Giglio quotes this scripture from colossians 1:

Col 1:16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0-NPPIeeRk

Finding whats Lost

Have you ever lost something that was so valuable only to find it later, about a year ago I had this experience where upon taking my camera out of my pocket at a skate session at the Edenvale Post Office my car keys fell out and as a result when it was time to go and by then I was by the old mutual building realised that I didn't have my car keys, with my gut feel telling me to go back to the post office there they were lying on the paving in plain sight. Now why this story and how does it relate to the gospel message. Well anyone in that time frame could have picked up the car keys and possibly took off in my car but by Gods grace every single person walking past had no desire and just left the keys on the ground, had I had waited an hour I would have had a scenario where my car keys possibly would have vanished. There's a story in the bible that relates and its the parrable of the lost sheep where Jesus tells of a farmer who loses one of his sheep, sets out to find it and when he does, rejoices. We are like those lost sheep or that set of car keys that go missing in that sometimes we distant ourselves from God and like the story of Adam and Eve God is wandering around saying where are you. God wants to find us and use us to bring about a 100% rate of followers who are completely devoted to his word and all we need to do is tell them about a man who lived over 2000 years ago named Jesus and the price he paid for them.

My Life as a Gymnast (Written Sep 21 2010)

I'm going to do something different and just tell of emotions that have come about and I dedicate this note to the following people

1. Brantley Pacheco - We both are undergoing difficult times in our gymnastics career and have made a promise that will stand

2. Kerneels Bezuidenhout - one of the Middleburg guys that pays a visit to my club now and then and I have really become close friends with him

3. Mike Geldenhuys - The first youth pastor that I worked under and learnt from and who is like a father to me, and yes we are overdue for a cup of coffe

4. Richard Van Lieshout - The current youth Pastor and another close friend

5. Ivan Senekal - An awesome teammate and close friend

6. Tyrone Morris - Top SA gymnast and confidant

7. Henri De Backer - A good friend and gymnast

My passion for gymnastics really started from a young age of about 15, when my school introduced a gymnastics program, however I didnt like the program that was set out so I didn't join up (Up until then I really hadn't been exposed to the sport) and for a short years there has been this desire and I guess one day I just took that plunge and got involved in the sport and I knew instantly that I was where I was meant to be. Amongst all this there has been this dream to compete and with barriers getting in the way this year I was given that shot but it all came crashing down 2 days before provincial qualifiers when my coach felt I wasn't ready pull out, There has been emotions that I have been hiding (being a male its a natural thing) and was extremely hard on me emotionally seeing my temmates get their provincial coulours and not me. The dream is still alive and I'm am pushing for next year like you cant believe because one thing I can honestly say is "I refuse to settle for anything less". Nationals is next week and the emotions have just come flooding back as I wont be competing and I wanted to so badly. Next year is going to be the year and I'm not going to give up and I'm going to fight for this dream like you can't believe because Gymnastics is something that I am passionate about. Whats incredible and humbling is the support even from those who aren't gymnasts. I guess God has been there to lay this passion on me even by forging a friendship with a former trampolining gymnast named Donovan Wright. Its as if God was talking to me and bringing me into an environment and passion he wanted for me. I can with great desire say that Gymnastics is a huge part of my life and I'm in it to be the next best gymnast around and I have this feeling that God is going to pull something incredible out the hat and do great things with me within the sport and lifestyle of Gymnastics.

To Fall or Not to Fall (Written Sep 10 2010)

I was just remebering a message that was spoken by an american preacher at a summer camp last year named Adam Cramer and I remember because large elements focus on a sport that I am very passionate about (Gymnastics). He started off describing how much loves to watch the olympics especially Womens Gymnastics (baring in mind that this guy has no background in Gymnastics) . To illustrate further he showed a whole bunch of Gymnastics bloopers, then came the core of the talk the Balance Beam scenario to which I will explain.

Take the balance as our daily life, you casually walk across it and sometimes like is just good (staying on the beam whilst maintaing good balance) but sometimes trials and tribulations come our way and something different happens in that we fall off the beam. What do you do after that, well you can either give up which is when situations like Suicide, depression, drugs alchohol abuse come into the mix or you can get back up on the beam and try again with optimism and hope that things will get better.

The Gospel According to the Legendary Z-Boys (Written Sep 7 2010)

Time again for words of Widom from Graham Boyd. One of my favourite movies and I guess it comes from the skateboarder side of thing (as I havent seen any Gymnastics films to this level lately but I would love to) is Lords of Dogtown. It follows the lives of three nobody's who rose up out of the ashes to join the list of top historic skateboarders who made history. They are Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta who all originally after being kicked out of their surf spot embrace the world of Skateboarding in Venice, CA. They join the Zephyr Skateboard team and through hardships they overcome they stay massively strong and instead of being stuck in the present they grow enormously even forging their own path amongst the skateboarding industry.

Now that I have given you a summary to the film, where this ties in with the Gospel is the following: We can either stay stuck in today within our comfort zone or we can like the Z-Boys step out of our comfort zones and take a chance for the kingdom of God. Their is a special passage in the Gospel of Matthew that details this and I will share it with you. It was told the first ever youth evening that I attended at EBC being 17 and having just become a christian and it has been spoken constantly over time.

Mat 14:24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. Mat 14:25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. Mat 14:26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. Mat 14:27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." Mat 14:28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." Mat 14:29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. Mat 14:30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Mat 14:31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Richard Leonard one of the Sonsurf guys and originally Westville Baptist on a home visit preached a sermon that I downloaded called What do you see and He speaks about getting out of our comfort zone but uses these words "Let go of the paddle" and that is my challenge, As a dedicated Christian Gymnast and dedicated Christian Skateboarder when I'm at Gymnastics practice or at the skatepark I look around and I see the harvest and once seeing the harvest and those that are troubled then it would be a tragedy if I did not at least make some form of the Gospel known.

Influencing the Nation (Wrtiten Aug 29 2010)

As I was sitting in church tonight and listening to Pastor Richard's (The Youth Pastor) sermon talking about making an impact in the messed up world we live in I was inspired, he used three areas in our lives where we should rise up and build up the kingdom of God.

1. Kings - These are the everyday leaders, be it Youth Leader, Businessmen etc.

2. Prophets - The famous prophets of the bible studied for hours a day on end the word of God and were clued in they were.

3. Priests - These are the heads of the churches around us (Senior Pastor, Minster, Rector (I used to be Anglican) etc. and the sole key is to provide compassion

The key point to the sermon was to say we as fellow believers carry all three and without those three although one might be more then the other we cannot reach this nation.

One of my favourite artists of all time is a secular band called the Offspring and in 1998 they wrote a song after meeting up with old friends from their childhood neighbourhood of Garden Grove, CA and as you read the words you can imagine quite easily the similarities between Garden Grove and your neighbourhood be it Randburg/Kempton Park/Edenvale or wherever you base your community and the word themselves should be a challenge to get out there with the Gospel and change the course of history for days to come. We live in a society where Suicide has rocked every community, homosexuality is so common that it almost becomes the norm to some people, People choose to go out on weekends and get drunk and high on drugs. We should be that llight in those dark areas and play a role in bringing these people back home to God

The Kids Aren't Alright

When we were young the future was so bright The old neighborhood was so alive And every kid on the whole damn street Was gonna make it big and not be beat Now the neighborhood‘s cracked and torn The kids are grown up but their lives are worn How can one little street Swallow so many lives Chances thrown Nothing‘s free Longing for what used to be Still it‘s hard Hard to see Fragile lives, shattered dreams Jamie had a chance, well she really did Instead she dropped out and had a couple of kids Mark still lives at home cause he‘s got no job He just plays guitar and smokes a lot of pot Jay committed suicide Brandon OD‘d and died What the hell is going on The cruelest dream, reality

Brotherhood (Written Aug 27 2010)

What is Brotherhood you may say, well I think its guys sticking up for each other even beyond the tough times.

1. Brotherhood of Gymnasts: I love Gymnastics and one thing I can say is although some people have put up a certain stereotype about the sport, I found that my fellow gymnasts have become pretty much family, yes at times we will tune each other at times but we stick up for each other when things go wrong.

2. Brotherhood of Skateboarders: This is an interesting one because like the Gymnastics scenario we all stick up for each other, Skateboarding also has received stereotypes and its one of "With Skaters come Alchohol and Drugs" which isnt true. In fact I remember years ago at New Life Church Skatepark with Marcus Maschwitz, Bradley Jones, Chase and a few of the Sonsk8 Edenvale crew and this guy who supposedly takes the money kept on incorporating his own rules instead of the pastors and one day tried to make a non skater Pay (rules were if you dont skate you dont pay) to which I responded in defense to that person and after receiving a bit of lip from the guy before I could jump in and comment there goes Marcus giving the guy hell and then a few others jumped in.

Yes with Skateboarding the brotherhood is more evident because its out in the open whereas Gymnastics is more within the gym but its all the same.

Now where does this fit in with the Gospel well we as christians are in a brotherhood with other christians and in Christ and when something is done wrong against our fellow believers we are called to stand up for that person. Take Polycarp, he was a christian martyr who lived in the roman empire and at that time if you said Jesus is Lord you would be burned at the stake because to the Romans Ceaser was Lord and Polycarp got caught out and was asked to denounce Christ in front of millions and he made this quote before being burned that changed the course of Hisrory and brought about a whole new brotherhood of christians " For 86 Years I have served him and he has done me no harm, how then can I abandon my king".

The Awesome Majesty of our God (Written June 27 2010)

I was watching my Louie Giglio DVD Indescribable yesterday and got to thinking. We spend most our time time chasing our dreams in life be it becoming the next big artist or national sportsman, even hosting the world cup which has been a huge blessing but I ask you when the world cup is over and we face judgement day or in the process of of chasing our dreams it gets taken away from us or we pass on tragically where your significance and loyalty lies. All of the achievements in life be it personal or national become insignificant because at the end of the day there is a God who is extremely righteous and powerful to the point that all the stars and galaxies in the sky were made by him and I know that he could if he wanted to to take me out if he wanted to without having to ask permision because he is God. We are all designed for one purpose in the end and that is to worship him in our passions and lifestyles no matter where we come from. Attached are 2 picture that just showcase his glory 1. Sombrero Galaxy located 28 million light years away (1 Light year equals 5.88 Trillion miles) and 2. The X Structure found in the middle of the whirlpool Galaxy found 31 Million light years away) You just have to look at these to say How great is our God and I encourage you to watch the DVD

Sombrero Galaxy

X Structure

Family History (Written Sep 30 2009)

Hey there, you cant deny that we all have bits of Family History,

Good: This can be in the form of Academics, Sports (Gymnastics, Golf, Hockey, Rugby, Cricket etc.), Boy scouts or even in the arts. These are the things we should be proud of as they are God given

Bad (This came from one of the discussions at church on Sunday Evening in the recent angels and demons series): This can be in the form of Alcoholism, Abuse etc. These are the sort of thing that should not be passed down but somehow they can slip through the cracks.

Its the bad that we really need to acknowledge before God so it can be taken away and not be allowed to pass on and the good for us to give God thanks as the good bits can simply guide us in the right direction in the future

Who I Am (Written Sep 9 2009)

I was sitting at the Memorial service for a well loved church minister Barry Marshall and its quite interesting to see his characteristics in me

1. Kid at heart - As a youth leader I involve myself in the program with a full heart and passion rather then stand at the side and watch

2. Bullheaded - Anyone that knows me knows that I can be quite bullheaded, stubborn and even sharp. If I see something that isnt glorifying God I will say so with caution and yes on the odd occasion I have ruffled some feathers whilst challenging people to be real I tend to make up to them quite quickly.

3. Zest for Life - I have a huge zest for life. My humour even shows it and my motto is to live life to the fullest whilst serving out Gods purpose in life serving the youth of the community and am glad to say that I'm a mentor to many youngsters I come across

My most precious memory was Easter Sunday this year we woke up in the middle of the night and sat on a mountaintop for a sunrise service with this most magnificent sunrise in the background

we then had breakfast, had an easter egg hunt and walked to a waterfall where a baptism took place and then a whole bunch of us did a waterfall jump. It was a day I will never forget and I leave you with this chorus

Heal My Heart and Make it Clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks yours
everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

What it means to be a Gymnast (Written Jan 4 2009)

Well What does it for me to be a gymnast. It means everything. I love the way way you put your body to the test every single time time whether its on floor, Highbar, rings, Parallel Bars, Pommel or Vault . I can honest ly say that not a moment goes by where I dont miss being there in training. I guess I can say I want to be one of the best gymnasts out there but only God can help me with that. Why Gymnastics you might ask, I have no idea why its just where I find my passion (I guess I can call it a god given passion) and I dont intend to ask why Gymnastics either as why should you question something you love. The bottom line is in my opinion there is no greater sport then Mens Artistic Gymnastics and I look forward to it every day.

Something to Share (Written Feb 24 2008)

The Following was posted by a long time High School friend and its something that I want to share with everyone

"Graham and I attended the same school twice once he and i were distant and never really chatted. After I moved into a new school a year later Graham had left our previous school and attended the same school as I and due to his enormous head (Brain..) He was transfered to my class. Graham and I had the same interests and were able to communicate without any problems however Graham was also my competition we fought a battle of brains and jokes our intelectual spa still resumes! Graham is great friend. Those who are assosiated with him will agree."

Short Term Ambitions (Written Aug 26 2007)

1. New York. What can I say, The Big Apple, Pretty much on my to see list

2. California to Tijuana. I have alway wanted to do this, make that journey from Los Angeles into Orange County into San Diego cross into the mexican border and instead of wanting to go to the more popular mexican destinations like Acapulco and Cancun I want to see the lesser visited towns of Tijuana and Ensenada.

3. Backpacking across Europe. This is just a term, the bottom line is I want to see every country in Europe on one trip

4. Offspring Live in Concert anywhere. Nothing will excite me more then see dexter and the guys performing their hit legendary songs live on stage. What would make it even more special since they are Orange County based is to see them play live in Orange County at the main stadium The Arena @ Anaheim just north of Huntington Beach and nearby their hometown Garden Grove.

5. Robben Island. Every Time I go to Cape Town this place gets higher on my list and evry Time I go I never get to see it, It may cost a lot but to see where the beloved former president Nelson Mandela lived for 26 years would be spectactular to see.

6. Durban. Some might say Why but the last time I was there was when I was a toddler and I don't remember it, Ijust feel left out when my friends speak so highly of it.

7. Wakeboarding and Surfing. Just Once would I like to do these 2 (I guess in a way I'm a sucker for extreme sports)

So that's my list of places and things to do