Day 83 - Watchful Eye

 

Lockdown Day 83 - Level 3 Day 17 - What else can I do? It is freezing outside, surely it is going to snow today. Nothing fell last night as the weatherman predicted but what do they know. Anyhoo what to do. I drag myself out of bed, jump into a steaming hot shower. Ahh I swear a hot shower was just what the doctor ordered. 

By 9am I found myself at my desk, joined by Paddy and his watchful green eyes. Now what can I do to move forward...

Day 65 - How to Drink Water?

Lockdown Day 65 - So how does your cat drink water? I remember a bible story a long time ago when God told this person to gather up his men and go attack this enemy, but the army was way to big for what God had in mind so after sending more than half home, God ordered that the army go to this stream and drink. Some men drank with their mouths to the water, and others scooped up the water with their hands. God selected the one group, which I think was the one that scooped up water. With this smallest group God had the victory. Now don't go ask me to go find book, chapter, and verse because I don't even remember the names which goes to show how well I listened in Sunday School. 

Anyways Paddy, our beautiful cat has this peculiar way of drinking water. Firstly he loves glasses of water over bowls of water although most of our cats also love drinking running water straight out of the tap, not that they can turn the taps on or off which can be a pain to turn off after them. 

Does anyone else's cat do the same?

Day 56 - Trip to the Vet

 

Lockdown Day 56 - Yesterday Paddy came home and refused to eat, something was wrong with his mouth. He kept pawing his mouth and although he tried to eat, he just couldn't so off to the vet we went first thing this morning. As you can see he was not very impressed with a trip in the car.

 Well the prognoses is that he had lost a tooth, cut his tongue and had a greenstick fracture of the lower jaw which had to be repaired.  Oh dear Paddy have you been in the wars with a genet?

Day 51 - Paddy finds the Drugs

 

Lockdown Day 51 - It looks like Paddy cat has found where we put the cat nip out. Eish I am not sure what look he is giving us now but "it's all mine" type of look. Cat Nip the gateway drug for cats.

Day 40 - King and Queen of the Castle

 

Lockdown Day 40 - Okay it has now been 40 days of lock down and although the cats are enjoying the company the humans well just lets say that they are on edge. Here is Paddy and Princess showing who is king and queen of the castle. Oh an Axel peering out of his heated box.

Day 38 - Sleeping through Church

 

Lockdown Day 38 - Okay this is to prove that we are at church and in bed at the same time. Being in bed does not mean that I wasn't listening to Jon's passionate preach. Yes I was awake and not like Saul who was like Paddy our cat fast asleep while David and his men took the spear and vase of water instead of killing Saul. Nothing would have woken Paddy, not even Jon.

Oh and this Kyle has been bugging me to write about what I shared to the Connect family about last Sunday's service. So please check the update I did on my post of last Sunday to read my testimonial... Oh why is Paddy always asleep?

Day 37 - Cat and Mouse

 

Lockdown Day 37 - It is Saturday and not much happening. Okay I finally got round to mowing the lawn. I know, I know, I know I should have gotten to this ages ago but somehow I was hoping to get a goat or two to start making some cheese and goats need grass to eat hence the not mowing the grass. Yip who is going to believe that. Well not Paddy, he has being my constant companion when I am trying to do some work. Here is Paddy playing cat and mouse on my desk.

Day 35 - More Daddy for Paddy

 

Lockdown Day 35 - This is the last day of Level 5 of lockdown, and here is Paddy smiling because he knows that Level 4 still means that his daddy will be staying at home while others go back to work because he was unfairly dismissed from his job at WebSense Internet Solutions and Therabreath South Africa. Oh well that means more daddy for Paddy.

Day 31 - Can't Make the Bed

 

Lockdown Day 31 - Wow 31 days into this lockdown and Paddy, our ginger, is really enjoying having us at home. So much so that I can't even make my bed anymore. Hopefully we won't have to endure this cabin fever much longer. 

UPDATE

Okay Kyle my Connect family has been pushing me to do this update. I told our Connect family about what happened today, this Sunday the 26 April that I didn't originally share it but Kyle thinks that I should so here is my testimony of today's church service.

So here goes. As those who want to know a little of the back story Jon is busy working through the story of David during our online church services now that we on lockdown and can't do our normally get together church. So here we are sitting in bed listening to Jon preach.

Preach it brother.

Today's live sermon was how David fled to the Philistines to escape Saul. Okay I am going paraphrase the story to get to my testimony quicker. The Philistine leader Achish allowed David and 600 men and their families to stay at the village of Ziklag. As expected war came between the Philistines and the Israelites. After some thought David and his men went to Achish to offer his services against David's own people but the generals were skeptical and convinced Achish to send David away. When David returned to Ziklag we found that the Amalekites had attacked and had taken their families away as plunder. David then went after the Amalekites to rescue their families.

It was then sitting on my bed that the Word of God suddenly became real to me. This story wasn't about David but about me, yes me Jerome.

There it was, God had a plan for me but things had gotten tough and instead of relying on God's provision, I had fled to the Philistines or in my case Websense to help me pay the bills, to give me a respite. Money was coming in to pay the bond, not enough but enough to give me a sense of control but I was not in control. I was not in the right place that God wanted me to be, I was in my Ziklag. There was times when offers came in to leave Ziklag but I was comfortable or I think that because I didn't like confrontation I sort of half heartily pursued leaving. Then war came in the form of the Corona Virus. Then came the attack by the Amalekites on Ziklag when I was surprised by been unfairly dismissed. David too must have been so surprised to find his family taken into captivity and all he could do was to turn back to God.

Just like that God spoke to me through the story of David. This was me, yes me trying to do it on my own and not trusting God so I fled and tried to do it on my own. Now I find myself at the ruins of Ziklag. 

What can I do now? Well all I can do is turn back to God. To trust and put all my hope in God.

Day 20 - Supervisor Paddy

 

Lockdown Day 20 - Lynda has been doing her Fly Lady cleaning regime since lockdown and we well have stayed out of her way. Here is Supervisor Paddy Cat supervising the Fly Lady doing her cleaning in the guest toilet. 

Paddy is making sure he gets the most out of his mom and dad stuck with him all day, every day during this lockdown.

Day 9 - Dr John Campbell

Lockdown Day 9 - The weather is still miserable which helps staying indoors during lock down here in Johannesburg. Spent some time in the office with Paddy following me around being so happy that daddy's home all the time. He loves lock down. Here I am catching up what is happening in the new coronavirus world with Dr John Campbell.

Chilling

 

With the university closed due to the Corona Virus, Matthew is home with us, relaxing. He is not happy that his studies have been delayed. He has been eager to get his degree and start working as some hot shot software developer. But now Paddy and Matthew have to chill.

Out for the Count

 

I woke up this morning all sore and battered. Eish this is going to be a day of recovery. Looking at the map I must have walked about 10km in rough veld terrain under a hot African sun, no wonder I am all sore.

I took some pain killers and somehow must have fallen asleep again. I woke up to what I thought at first was Sunday with my cat Paddy past out next to me after an all nighter in the veld. At least he feels safe with his daddy home too.

Sticking Out Your Tongue

 

It is Sunday afternoon, I'm half asleep as it is nearly nap time and Paddy is fast asleep next to me, with the tip of his tongue sticking out. It is the first time I've noticed him doing the tongue thing. 

Past Out

 

After an morning of month end shopping , I am just over it all and I want to be like out cat Paddy, just past out next to his daddy. Yeah that is where I want to be right now, past out safely at the feet of Jesus. With no worries to bother me, I just want to sleep safe and deeply as my cat Paddy is doing right now at my feet.

Walking in my Shoes

 

Not everyone will understand the journey that I have being on. That's fine, yet Paddy would love to be able to fit into my shoes, just to be able to make sense of what I've been through. To walk in my shoes, to understand, and to love is all he wants of me.

Storm Cat

A huge storm has broken overhead and here is Paddy fast asleep and oblivious to the hail falling outside. My rain gauge measured 59mm of rain had fallen in the last 2 hours. That is a lot of water. Reports are coming in of walls that have fallen over along with videos of the torrents of storm water trying to find its way into our streams. All the while Paddy sleeps. 

Its Cold and Wet Outside

 

With all the rain we've been having, no wonder the cats have opted to rather stay indoors where it is nice, warm and snug compared to the wet cold outside. Paddy normally loves the rain but this afternoon here he is, fast asleep at my feet in the lounge.

Cat Fight

 

With the week finally over, my feet up on the ottoman, I put on some TV and searched for something light to watch. Somehow I came across  this video clip of 2 cats fighting and with all the wailing, our cats started to get upset. So the big boy Paddy went to investigate what all the fuss was about. Here he is staring at the 2 cats on the TV.

Cat TV

 

Just relaxing at home with Paddy as company watching whatever was on the TV at the time, so I changed channels to the Cat TV for him. With a perked interest, he started crouching and stalking the birds on the TV. Next he was right in front of them trying to figure out how is he going to catch himself a little tweedy.