Who Am I?

I've been thinking about this question a lot lately. Who am I? Or, to phrase it more accurately, what defines me? Is it my accomplishments? Is it by making others proud of me and by being a good husband? Is it my talents and abilities?

I've always defined myself by a number of names that I feel best describe me. Thus, I see myself as Murray the Mercy Shipper. Murray the intensely patriotic Capetonian/South African. Murray the cyclist. Murray the model ship builder. Murray the blogger. Murray the Lord of the Rings and Lego fan. The list goes on.

And yet there is so much more to me than mere titles. My identity should be found in God and not in my talents and abilities. I should be Murray the Man of God. Which begs the question, who am I in Christ? The Bible answers this question with many truths, some of which are listed below:

• I am a child of God. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3: 1 NIV)
• I am a citizen of Heaven. But our citizenship is in heaven. (Philippians 3: 20 NIV)
• I am an heir of God. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. (Romans 8: 17 NIV)
• I am a new creation. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5: 17 NIV)
• I am Christ's Ambassador. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5: 20 NIV)
• I am no longer a captive - I am free! So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8: 37)

In a sense, the titles that define me can also hold me captive to fit into a certain box shaped by man. My prayer is that God would mould and shape me into the man of God, and that this would define who I am. I pray that everyone who reads this blog would take this challenge to heart too. God bless!

- 18 deg C...

The coldest day of this winter (so far) was last Wednesday (7th January) when the mercury went down to around negative 18 degrees Celcius or 0 degrees Fahrenheit. I took most of these photos as I walked around our pond late last week. I also went to the East Side Park in Washington, Indiana, last Saturday and snapped the below photos of 100s of ducks and geese standing on the ice.

 The frozen pond next to our place.

 Man and man's best friend looking out over the frozen water.

 View towards Bethel Mennonite Church.

 Frozen lake at the East Side Park.

 Ducks and geese standing on the icy surface.

There were 100s of them!

Christmas activities...

Here are some photos of our Christmas activities in Odon during the last two weeks of December.

 Family gingerbread house contest.

 The boys were a team and this was our creation.

 The girls made this lovely house.

 The dinner table. The Christmas crackers were my addition to the meal. :)

 My name place.

 Christmas tree with gifts.

Family opening presents together.