Very early Sunday morning (5 July) Tinus

I honestly cannot recall exactly how many movies I've watched on this world tour. So many stories, so many characters, so many endings, so many lessons and so many beginnings. Yet, as I sit here, I cannot think of one decent way to start this post! Hence, the totally random approach I have adopted.

Please do forgive me if this seems slightly unintellectual, for it is nearly one in the morning and there is no coffee nearby, so I might just be blabbering a little. But, sleep eluded me the twenty or so minutes I've been in bed, so I decided I'll tick something off my To-Do-list for a change.

At this point, I might as well be honest: I haven’t really been able to get much done lately. Those Goal-lists my mother wrote about – the ones we draw up as a family each time we come to a new place – well, I usually have more than a couple of unticked boxes. At least one accomplishment I have to be proud of...

…I am resting well! And enjoying it thoroughly!

Back to business, but before I get serious I simply must comment on this introduction. Besides it being absolutely inappropriate and not being quite as smart as it sounded when I went over it in my head, at least it got me out of bed and actually working. (And what hard work it is!)

But, there is a time for everything, Solomon said. And now it is time for me to get to that which fills my thoughts. I know I am actually still busy with my account on our Alaskan Cruise, but please do bear with me (I will still finish it someday…) as I really must get something off my chest straight away.

Way back, when we were in California, I started sharing some of the things the Tour has Taught me. I touched on my London and France lessons on Don’t file a suit and Use the right sense. From Switzerland I learned something about the moment and thinking about it just now I realize how seldom I live in it! Now, this might come as a shock (and if it doesn’t, perhaps you need to do some self-evaluation) that while I am on the journey of a lifetime, I should neglect enjoying each moment of it. In my defense, let me just assert that I indeed do enjoy every moment. But – and here the gears in my head started turning – I often enjoy it (and realize I must enjoy it) so much that I try to attach some sort of worth, some sort of value to it in such a way that I should remember it with the appreciation it deserves. I enjoy the present, but while I do so I make sure that in the future, when this present is past, I shall enjoy it still. Am I making any sense? If not, I blame it on the clock!

So, the moment and making the very best out of it. Making it last for eternity, yet making it count now! This is sort of what I was confronted with in Switzerland. Oh, had I given it enough thought and action then, how much more would I have enjoyed this tour (if that indeed is possible!) And how much more would I have accomplished if I had taken the Germany lesson Do it, do it right, do it now to heart. I have however, been applying Singapore's slogan "Apply your mind" quite thoroughly and have reaped great benefits.

About the past, however, little can be done but to learn from it. And now in the present, I want to. (I almost decide to call it a night just now, but then thought of Germany…)

Jesus basically told us in Mathew 7:24 to build our house on the rock. Do you know what that rock is we should build on?

**If I didn’t want to get my parents approval on this blog before I posted it, which will only happen tomorrow, this would have been a great place to call it a night and tell you to go read the verses . Then I could have posted what I've written thus far, go to bed and continue when the sun is shining. It's Sunday morning, by the way and I will finish the a large part of this post later, but I can’t sleep just yet…**

The rock we should build on – the one on which the foundations of our lives must be build or else we'll collapse when life hits us…collapse into a heap of pain – that rock is, believe it or not, not Jesus Christ! The rock is the Words of Christ! Building on the rock is thus not merely believing in Jesus, but putting what He has taught us into practice! Get it?!

I just disobeyed a solid rule in literature in using so many exclamation mark right after one another, but I need to make this point. To myself more than anyone else. It doesn’t matter how much you know or how many verses you can quote or what you've learned where. What keeps your life from falling apart is practicing these truths! I want to build on the rock! I want to Use the right sense. I want to ensure I Don’t file a Suit. I want to Live the Moment right. I want to do what must be done…I want to Do it, do it right, do it now!

And for me the best way to Apply my mind toward those truths I have learned so that it can become part of my actions(Rom 12:1), is to write one them.

I will thus in the very near future, continue my string of post regarding what I've Learned on this world tour and now you know what to expect.

I think I have just about written what was required of me in these small hours of the morning and will post this all when the family wakes up. One last thing, however, I must still say (or write).

When I started this post I knew I needed to start typing, but what exactly I wanted to say, I knew not (this then the reason for the unusual intro). Now I feel at peace and can taste the Lords tangible presence.

Thank You, Lord for drawing near to us when we draw near to You. Thank You for doing Your part when we are obedient!

It was as I typed that the Lord reminded me that I need to build on the rock. Just to let you in on His Glory, Grace and Humor… (He's laughing at…with me at the moment), I must tell you of the place we visited on Friday. On second thought, let me just show you…

Glory to God! And remember: build on the rock!

P.S. Remember to read my mom's Atlanta post...