It is impossible for us to move straight from a Friday into a Sunday. First, bterapiaberles we have to deal with a little issue called Saturday. Friday… then Saturday… then Sunday. And to get to our Sunday we first have to endure Saturday; we have to make it through the process in the middle…

Bad Times… Rough Times… Tough Times… It’s always about the process in the middle.

This morning I attended the Expat club meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel in Chiang Mai and walking into the hotel, I stopped for a moment, looked around me and asked myself, if the feeling that I was feeling was appropriate for a Christian and for somebody in His service. coloradowebimpressions

It kind of gave me the feeling I always had when walking into The Palace hotel at Sun City, that breath taking feeling when experiencing the grandeur, the beauty and the good life of luxury destined for only a few. I worked for Ster Kinekor as the Complex Manager at Sun City. uniquenewsonline

And for that split second, inside the Shangri-La Hotel, all my senses responded and took me back to the lifestyle we had in Dubai. I admit not everybody can have that type of lifestyle, but my work and my social circle made it possible. I cannot recall one month in three years that I did not receive a complimentary ticket to sleep in a five star hotel for at least one night. I have been driven around in luxury cars by drivers at my beck and call. Yes, repcohome not everybody has this experience; however, my staff loved me, and drove me around at the drop of a hat. It was high tea with Margo, luxury dinners and dates with Marius, lots of lunches, dinners, and outings with Dora, Zeid and friends, and the best shopping sprees in the world with Lene. optimalremodel

I am almost convinced that we did bitch a lot in Dubai, about traffic, people, nothing to do, and more. But looking back now, I wish I could take all the bitching away and say I am deeply sorry for complaining, because it was indeed a lifestyle that will be with me forever. aslremodeling

So to get back to the Shangri-La hotel this morning. I walked in and experienced this feeling of; Yes, this is me, this is very much Me, I am all for comfort, luxury and great settings. It smelled clean; and I had no reservations about either eating or drinking anything that was served this morning.

Then I asked myself if this was Christian like, because I had to admit that up to now I had not yet found anything in my current lifestyle that was turning me on. In fact, I really hated the streets, the constant pollution of the bikes and the smell of food on the street.

I actually felt a bit ashamed for feeling this way because it is customary, I thought, for a good Christian girl to be completely and utterly satisfied in the circumstance she found herself. 7mgg

I am sure my father will disagree; I hope so, because I always hate the notion that people who are deeply devoted have to be poor, struggling citizens.

The guest speaker was Dr. Gregory W. Frazier, known as “America’s number one extreme motorcycle adventure rider”. He has circled the world five times on his motorcycle. He is an American Indian whose thirst for experiencing other cultures around the world has resulted in adventures that include having ridden motorcycles to the furthest points on the globe. He is a journalist who has authored 14 books, produced films and recorded some of the wildest adventures imaginable: manguerose

His latest book, Motorcycle adventurer took 16 years to research. It recounts the true story of Carl Stearns Clancy, the first person to circumnavigate the globe on motorbike in 1912-1913. Frazier followed much of the original Clancy route, including parts in Malaysia and in Indonesia. Dr. Gregory’s pictures in his talk resonated with me… with the difference he was travelling, feeding his lust for adventure but always returning home… where there was comfort and normality.

Introspection: Is this me? I love the research. I love to explore. I love making a difference. Is this hard for me because my being, is doing all this with the expectation of making a life here? I wonder? I feel that I have to up hold the front that all is well, that I am enjoying this experience. But I am wearing my mask. When I speak to my sis Charlie, I feel that I have to keep my voice light. I have to make her feel that I am going to be okay. Speaking to my pastor, I feel that I have to be happy, because somehow I know that God wants me to do something here. I know my parents will not be happy if they know that at the moment I am hating this experience. Bev, Lisa, Anneke and Ria kind of know what I am going through… They know me well and I presume they know that somehow all this will work out, they pray, they believe that God is moulding me.

What do I feel while walking back from the Hotel, looking around me? I have to admit it is not a feeling of gratitude that comes over me. Last night, Aleta Maree and I were talking on face book… they spent five weeks in Thailand last December. And yes I still remember Linnea’s words before I left:

“Bibi, expect something very different from the brochures… ” and yes it is. Here I cannot go for long walks on white beaches, the water does not calm me down and I find it difficult to formulate my thoughts, be still and pray. Here in this town I find it all too different.

The markets are, I suppose if you come from the Middle East you will have seen it all in the souks,… not a place you want to visit every day.

One of the questions I ask myself is – do I keep re inventing the wheel? Because I know I work well when I am close to the sea, I know I need lots of peace around me, I know I am creative and spiritual when I have time to think, time to be quiet. But here, none of this is possible for me.

But to get back to the meeting… It was one of those crystal ball moments: The room was filled with retired American’s and one or more pensioners from Europe… the emphasis on retired. The marketing that has been done for Americans ‘retiring in Thailand’ is paying off. Yes, from listening to some of them, I think, if you do have good money then you can live well here. I gather they did not have much in the US while Thailand has so much more to offer them.

You do not see any of the pictures of drop dead gorgeous bodies.

So for those of you, thinking that I am about to meet the man of my dreams in Thailand then I just want to say, re think… between all the monks and the pensioners around me… I will find it hard to meet somebody I like…

Now I am sure you are wondering what the picture in the beginning is all about. YES, it is fish nibbling my feet. (View pictures on the blog about the famous fish spa’s in Thailand). What a weird sensation. I could hear my mother’s response and yes, they were eating away on my feet for 30 minutes. This made me think of the title I used: You have to get through Saturday to get to Sunday: It is like the fish eating away the dead skin on my feet. It is weird, not very pleasant in the beginning but you kind of get use to it, and eventually you get where you need and want to be: Soft clean feet.

God told me this, via e-mail, when I got home-.

If, you are one of the people who has acknowledged that you feel this way, as crazy and as unreal as this may sound to you at this very moment, you must realize that you are not alone and you have to please, please, please know that something good will come out of the hard times you are experiencing right now. This is said with absolute confidence. Something good has to happen – there is no choice.

Why? Because God promised that, it would.

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God – those whom He has called according to His plan… ( Romans 8: 28 )

Let’s talk about facing some hard times.

The road to the cross was certainly not a small issue…

Perhaps even Jesus experienced a few of the very same feelings that are running through your body at the moment. In fact we do know that at some point the anguish and the anticipation overwhelmed Jesus so much that He called out to His Father… Stressing to God that facing the cross was not His first option and asking God if it was really necessary…

Jesus had to make a choice and just like Him we too have to make a choice. We must decide that we are going to go through our hard times because they are the pathway to all good things.

Remember this: Sunday’s always come after Friday’s.

As you stare into the face of your hard times… believe with every fibre of your being that going through and enduring your hardships will bring a harvest of good results into your life.

Nobody has ever promised that this would be easy. But as challenging as it may be for us, when in the midst of our pain… it is vital for us to remain in faith that God will work it all out for our good – as He always does!!

Consider this scenario

On Good Friday Jesus was crucified and on Sunday He was resurrected…

Good Friday was a day that was filled with an extreme amount of stress, heartache, agony and pain. Hardly a ‘good’ day or was it?

Oh yes it was; Jesus endured the hardest time of His life but the result that came out of that particular Friday… Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on Sunday… that was good..

ALL THINGS DO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD!!

There is absolutely nothing nice, pleasant or good about the hard times we experience. But believing that God will make something good come out of them, should give us the determination that we need to be brave and to push through.

GOD WILL GIVE YOU BEAUTY FOR ASHES!

The day of Jesus’ crucifixion was in actual fact a day when absolutely nothing made sense; a day where everything was very difficult; a day that was full of terrible pain and suffering. Yet even on a dark, dark day like that, God worked it out for the good. He delivered to us the greatest miracle that mankind will ever know.

This should be such a source of comfort to you to really, really believe that everything is going to be alright.

Good Friday is not known as a good day because of what took place on that particular day it is known as good Friday because of the results that were born out of that day.

Now even saying the words ‘hard times’ can often make our skin crawl. We do not want them and when we get them we can’t wish them away fast enough. But do you know that our hard times can be beneficial and helpful to us to another specific level.

Be honest with yourself, in reality would you be the person that you are if you had never had to deal with and go through some stuff… ?

Strangely enough, our hardest times seem to provide the most fertile soil for us to experience growth in our lives.

Hardship promotes growth because it is during these times that we seem to become more determined to seek Gods face and deepen our relationship with Him. And the reason we do this is because we have to. God is our only option if we want to make it through our difficulties.

If you diligently seek the awesome presence of God, and if you trust Him; He will give you all the comfort you need to know that He can and He will turn bad things around to give you good results…

Do you remember that Sunday’s always come after Friday’s?

OK, so obviously, we all know this, but yes, there is a point:

It is impossible for us to move straight from a Friday into a Sunday. First we have to deal with a little issue called Saturday. It’s Friday, then Saturday, then Sunday and in order for us to get to our Sunday we will first have to endure Saturday – we will have to make it through the middle. In everything that happens in our lives we will experience a beginning, middle and an ending.

The beginning: The start of something new, a time that causes a flooding of emotions. Sometimes exciting, sometimes terrifying, perhaps the start of good times, but perhaps the start of bad times a time non-the-less when a new chapter begins.

The Middle: Oh, the middle, this can be a very frustrating place for us to be, as we often find ourselves feeling lost and confused in this place because we simply have no clue what is going to happen next.

The end: Now this is an exciting time for us because we know that it is here that we will get to experience our victory.

So we have learnt that Sunday’s always come after Friday’s and perhaps we can agree that our Saturday’s are the hardest days to handle.

We can never really determine how long the middle part of our journey is going to last and although God knows, He will more often than not keep that a secret from us. So we must always keep in mind that we are moving through the middle of something. We also have the absolute guarantee that an end always comes after a beginning, but it is vital for us to endure the middle.

You must not only endure, but also be determined to outlast your hard times, because if you continue to trust God and if you choose to remain steadfast, refusing to quit and to give up, you will pass through the hard times and you will make it to the end where victory awaits you.

Jesus endured the cross because He knew what was waiting for Him on the other side. In our lives we are also going to have to endure some challenges and face some pretty hard times and the only way we are going to be victorious is if we push through..

It does not matter how big your problems look right now. You will have a victorious ending!

I enjoyed two wonderful days training with the Sanjay network. I also met great people; all Christian base NGO’s, and some missionaries from different churches working with Child trafficking.

I will attend a work group with Ana Maria Clamor Asia Director, of Programme and Grants, World Concern, on Monday to see how we can work together. I met some great people I can join hands with in this project and learnt more wrecking news about the sex industry, the sex slaves and how small children are trafficked to work in the most horrible places in the world. I also learnt that many things that are horrifying to us are acceptable in different countries and in different cultures.

One person’s horror is another person’s pleasure.

This is something Bev and I talk about a lot, I sell my body because I do not have money… “you” buy sex because nobody wants you and you have the money…

I wonder what you and I would do if our children did not have food, or our families needed to do this for survival. I have always shown an interest in the sex trade. My wish is that this industry is researched for awareness, for skills training to create new opportunities for job creation or simply for writing about it, as it will be great if out of this we could create funding that could be utilized to do some Godly work in the sex industry.

One final word for the day: please, please, please take care of your children; please make sure you know where they are every second of the day. We have no idea what a cruel, horrible – industry is out there. Pray the blood of Jesus over your children, protect them with your prayers every day and bless them with the blood of Jesus.

Now my friend I am going to take a small “guest speakers nap”… speaking tonight at the Toastmasters club in Chiang Mai. I have my crown but not my princess dress… wonder what I will wear to leave a lasting impression?

Bibi Farnham
Bibi has become a leading voice in motivation. She is a passionate, yet captivating presenter who inspires her audiences all over the world; whether she speaks to individuals, to companies or even to small focus groups. She has a unique theatrical style of presenting which she uses with the necessary directness to engage with her audience whilst remaining sensitive to their needs. Her strong humanitarian and religious beliefs give an authentic life changing quality to her message.